Phytochemical and biological investigations of erythrina variegata

Five compounds were isolated from the n-hexane and chloroform soluble fractions of a methanol extract of the stem bark of Erythrina variegata. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated as alpinum isoflavone [1], epilupeol [2], 6-hydroxygenistein [3], 3beta 28-dihydroxyolean-12-ene [4] and stigmasterol [5] by extensive spectroscopic studies, including high field NMR analyses. Different partitionates of the methanol extract exhibited mild to moderate antimicrobial activity and varying degrees of cytotoxicity. Although, alpinum isoflavone [1] has previously been reported from E. variegata, this is the first report of isolation of compounds 2-4 and stigmasterol from this plant species