A description of the isolation o f alkaloids from various parts o f the plant Gloriosa superba L. of lndian and African,origin has been given. The various quantitative representation of these biologically active substances in material collected at different periods and in various localities is discussed. T h e results obtained are summarized in Tables I and 11. Zusammenfassung Es wurde die lsolierzlng der Alkaloide aus verschiedenen Teilen von Gloriosa superba L. indischen und afrikanischen Ursprungs beschrieben. Die quantitative Vertretung dieser biologisch aktiven Substanzen in Material, gesammelt zu verschiedenem Zeitpunkt und an verschiedenen Lokalitiiten, wird diskutiert. Die Ergebnisse wurden in den Tabellen I und I1 zusammengefa/3t. Next to the plants of the genus Colchiceae, the genus Gloriosa is the most widely distributed plant of the section Glorioseae [I-31 of the subfamily Wztrmbaeoideae which grows in the tropical and the southern part of Africa, in Madagascar, India, Ceylon, China, Indochina, and on the adjacent isles [4-141. The individual parts of these plants, many of which are cultivated at present (ornamental plant in glasshouses) in Europe and in America, are highly toxic and have since ancient times been used in popular medicine [4, 5, 8-12].

Petrol and benzene extracts of the mature plant roots have led to the isolation of five compounds which have been characterised as friedelin, epifriedelinol, ,6-sitosterol, carvone and dihydrocarvone. In case of latter two compounds, GLC studies were carried to establish their identity. In addition to these compounds, the chloroform extract of the ammoniacal water treated roots have led to the isolation of some basic constituents which respond to the alkaloidal tests. Due to very low concentration of these basic constituents we have not so far been able to separate them in workable quantities.

isolation of terephthalic acid and its methyl esters from the leaves and stems of Zizyphus sativa GAERTN. has been reported which constitutes the first example of its natural occurrence.Zizyphus sativa GAERTN. (Syn. Zizyphus vulgaris LAMB. (Rhamnaceae) is widely used in the indigenous medicine (CHOPRA,.NAYAR and CHOPRA, 1956). Recent pharmacological screening of the crude extract in the laboratory showed that i t possesses diuretic properties. The present work was, therefore, undertaken to isolate the substances therein in pure state.On column chromatography over neutral alumina, the petroleum ether (40-60") extract of the dry leaves and stems of the plant gave closely related substances: mono-and dimethyl esters of terephthalic acid along with free acid.

Some new amides of 5-Sulphosalicylic acid were synthesized by the reaction of suitable amines with 5-sulphosalicylic acid in 2:1 ratio. The compounds are novel and first time screened for their biological evaluation along with general characterization with the help of elemental analysis, IR spectral analysis. These compounds showed higher to moderate biological activity against different pathogenic microbial strains.

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