Adenanthera pavonina Li n n. (Mimosaceae) [I], a large deciduous tree, commonly known as 'red wood,' is found in the Eastern Sub-Himalayan tract, the Western Ghats and the Andamans. It is an avenue tree [2] especially in southern part of the country and its wood is used as a dye and as a substitute for the true red sandal wood (Pterocarptls santalintts). The tree yields a gum called m a d at i a [I]; and the seed besides yielding the fixed fat [2], is reported to have medicinal properties [I, 21. While pursuing the investigation with the different plants of Legtrminosae, a systematic chemical examination of the seed kernel, seed coat and the leaves of A. pavonina was also carried out. The dark red seed (3.2 kg) yielded 53% kernel and 47% seed coat. T h e alcoholic extractive of the powdered kernel taken up in excess of n-hexane and left over night, deposited white precipitate (177 g). The precipitate crystallised from alcohol furnished cubical crystals (23 g; 0.8%), identified as dulcitol through m. p. 184-186" (dec.), mixed m. p. and co-TLC(CHC13-CH30H, 5:20). The filtrate freed of the sugar alcohol on removal of the solvent gave a polysaccharide as a foam (150 g) which on acid (alc. HC15%) hydrolysis yielded a sugar mixture consisting of glucose, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose and two unidentified spots (paper co-chromatography). The hexane soluble portion of the alcoholic extractive on chromatography over neutral alumina yielded from the hexane eluents, stigmasterol, m.p. 163-165", m/e 410 Mf, identity established through mixed m. p., superposable IR-spectrum [3], mass fragmentation and acetate, m. p. 140-141'; and from the methanol eluents, a microcrystalline substance, m. p. 290-291°, single spot o n thin layer (silica gel G, Bz-MeOH, 98:2) plates, mol. wt. 574 (Mf). Found [3]: C, 73.10; H, 10.72. C35H580s requires: C, 73.13; H, 10.28%. The compound was Lieberman-Burchard (pink-violet-blue-green) positive and showed in its IR-spectrum [3], broad absorption [4] due to bonded hydroxyl similar to that of a sterol glucoside. Bands [4] at 1250 and 1226 cm-I for the CC stretching frequencies associated with the glucosidic linkage were also prominent. It formed a tetraacetate, C4,Hao Ole, m. p. 144-145", finally indicating the compound to be a sterol glucoside. The conventional dilute acid hydrolysis of the glucoside failed to give either the aglycone o r the sugar moiety in contradistinction to the character of the common phytosterol glucosides [S-71. T o explain the difficulty in hydrolysing the compound, its physico-chemical properties were thoroughly studied. With con

Review o f work carried out on the three well known species o f genus Mimusops support the chemotaxonomic inter-genus and intra-genus relatiorrship among the plants of Sapotaceae family. 1t is interesting to note that the fruit pulps of Mimusops hexandra and Mimusops manilkara show the presence o f the fatty acid esters o f common triterpene 'alcohols while that of M. elegeni yields the free triterpenoids. Identical constituents are present in the seed coat and kernel of the three species. Sapotaceae or Sapodilla family comprises mostly of large evergreen trees [I], less commonIy shrubs. The plants are distributed throughout the tropics of Asia, Africa and America. The family [I, 21 consists of about 40 genera spread over 600 species. Among the genera, the important ones are

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.

The fruit (pulp and seed) and the trunk bark have been investigated earlier (N i g am et al., 1962; N i g a m and M i t r a , 1967; 1968). The constituents of the flowers heartwood and root bark are reported here.