From the blue coloured flowers of C l i t o r i a t er na t a L. (Leguminosae) three closely related anthocyanins namely, malvidin-3-B-glucoside, delphinidin-3-Pglucoside and 3 methyl derivative of delphinidin-3-/3-glucoside, have been isolated.Clitoria ternata [I] a common garden plant occurs among hedges all over the tropical regions from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka. The whole of the plant is reported to be medicinally important. It is useful in Snake-bites. Some preliminary work has already been done [2, 3, 41. The persent communication reports the detail structural study of the anthocyanins from the flowers.The flowers were extracted with one percent methanolic hydrochloric acid and the extract was separated by paper chromatography on Whatman No. 3 mm paper using the organic phase of butanol-acetic acid-water (4:1:5) into three components and they were identified to be monoglucoside derivatives of malvidin, delphinidin and 3'-0-methyl delphinidin. ExperimentalAll the components were purified by the lead salt method [5] and the homogeneity was checked by the paper chromatography. The first, anthocyanin, component had Rt 0.38 (BAW) [q and 0.23 (2N-HC1) [7]. It give blue-violet colour with aq.sodium carbonate, uneffected by the addition of sodium hydroxide. The anthocyanin showed a maximum absorption at 535 nm in the visible spectrum (1 010 MeOH-HC1). The anthocyanin was hydrolysed with 2 0 0 1 0 hydrochloric acid which afforded anthocyanidin and ,8-D(+) glucose, since it was also hydrolysed by the enzyme emulsin. The colour reaction showed it to be 3-glucoside. The anthocyanidin had Rr 0.44 (acetic acid-conc.HC1-water 5:1:5) [8] and 0.72 (2N-HCI) [9]. The anthocyanidin gave blue-violet colour with aq.sodium acetate, destroyed by the addition of ferric chloride. It showed a maximum absorption in the visible spectrum at 542 nm (1 O / o MeOH-HCl), uneffected by the addition of 1 0 1 0 ethanolic AICI,, characteristic of Malvidin derivative [lo].The anthocyanidin was not extracted with cyanidin reagent but was completely extracted with delphinidin reagent and completely destroyed in the oxidation test.Downloaded by: University of British Columbia. Copyrighted material.

Background Tooth discoloration is a frequent dental finding associated with clinical and esthetic problems. It differs in etiology, appearance, composition, location and severity. During routine school dental camps we found that there is black discoloration of tooth in children in a particular area of Moradabad city. Objective To assess the prevalence and to investigate the reasons for the black stains among school children of Moradabad city. Methods Three schools present in the municipal ward were selected for the study. All the children studying in the above schools were subjected to Type III investigation to identify the black stains. Out of 780 children 156 students showed black stains. Among them a sample of black stain scraping was taken from 5 students and it was subjected to analysis for trace elements. Trace elements analysis was done by (ICP) Inductively Coupled Photo spectrometry. Results Out of 5 scrapings 3 showed presence of ferrous ions of about 2.56%, calcium ions 17.15% and magnesium ions 0.72%, while the remaining 2 samples showed calcium 14.86%, magnesium ions 0.82% and no presence of ferrous ions. Conclusion Black extrinsic tooth stains were shown to be a form of dental plaque. The stains examined contained a black insoluble ferric compound.