I. Constituents of the fresh fruit Blighia saijidn (Sapindaceae) is a tropical tree, the fruit aril of which is edible and reported to reduce the blood sugar content (K r o n e r and H o l t , 1956). T h e fruit (average 10 cm X 5 cm; wt. 11 7 g) has a spongy pericarp constituting the major portion (63 per cent) of the fruit and the pericarp is also reported to have medicinal properties (F o x and M i 11 e r , 1960). During recent investigations in this laboratory with the saponin-bearing fruits (Mi t r a et al., 1965; N i g a m et al., 1963), a number of hitherto unreported triterpenoids have been isolated and as an extension of the scheme of work, chemical examination of the constituents of Blighia saijida fruit pulp has been carried out. Hederagenin had been isolated from the B. sapidn husk saponin (P u 1 m e r and S n e t t o , 1963) and the presence of hypoglycines in the aril (von H o 1 t and L e p p l a , 1958) had been evaluated as the blood sugar lowering agent. T h e component fatty acids of the kernel fat and the analysis of the meal protein have recently been published (U c c i a n i et al., 1964).

PUTRANJIVA ROXHBURGHIZI. Constituents of the seed coat B y H . S . G a r g and C . R . M i t r a Putranjiva roxhburghii W a l I. (Euphorbiaceae) is a medium sized shady tree with dense foliage. Its fruits are reputed in folk medicine as a preventive against children's diseases (W a t t). ITC-glycosides (P u n t a m b e k a r , 1950, A n d e r sj a i r , 1962) have been isolated from the seed kernel in which traces of an uncharacterised saponin were noted ( K r i s h n a and P u n t a m b e k a r , 1931). In continuation of the work ( M i t r a et al. 1962, 1963, 1965) o n saponin-bearing fruits/ 19 subjected to paper co-chromatography with BuOH : AcOH : H,O = 5 : 4 : 1 using aniline phthalate developer, which confirmed the presence of arabinose (R1.., 0.24), rham~iose (Rr, 0.41), and glucose (RF, 0.18) as well as the other solvent system, BuOH : Py : H,O : Bz = 5 : 3 : 3 : 1. N o unidentified spot was traced on the chromatograms.The sterol and the sterol glucoside: The ether soluble portion of the seed coat extract was washed with sodium carbonate solution (5 per cent; 25 rnl X 3) subsequently with water till freed of alkali, dried (Na,SO,) and solvent removed when a darlc-brown semisolid mass (c 40 g) was obtained. The residue on chromatography over alumina (840 g; eluent, hexane-benzene) yielded the sterol, ni. p. 140'. The main bulk of this fraction was however, a viscous terpenic constituent which did not crystallise. On continuing with the chromatogram, the methanol eluate yielded P-Dglucoside of p-sitosterol, m. p. 281-283O, (u)%-18' (c, 1.0; pyridine) which on acid hydrolysis yielded p-sitosterol m. p. 136-137O; and glucose was identified as the only sugar in aqueous hydrolysate.The sterol acelare: The acetate was prepared by heating the sterol (80 mg) with acetic anhydride (15 ml) and fused sodium acetate (100 mg) at 100' for 6 hrs and subsequently at 120' for 2 hrs. On usual working and chromatography over alumina (2 g; eluent, hexane) and finally crystallization (alcohol), it melted at 126-128'; (u)' ?J-26O. AbstractA crystalline triterpenoid saponin designated Putranjivoside, C47H700L6 6 H 2 0 , m. p. 215-217O, (a)D-350, has been isolated from the seed coat of Putranjiva roxhbz~rghii and it has been established to be 3-P-L-arabino-L-rhamno-D-glucoside of oleanolic acid. T h e other constituents include free p-sitosterol and (3-Dglucoside of [3-sitosterol apart from a viscous liquid terpenic fraction.