title: Profiling of the resin glycoside content of Mexican jalap roots with purgative activity.
abstract: Mexican Jalap roots, a prehispanic medicinal plant complex still considered to be a useful laxative, can be found as an ingredient in some over-the-counter products sold by herbalists in contemporary Mexico. The drug is prepared from the dried roots of several morning glories, all of which have been identified as members of the genus Ipomoea. Analysis of several commercial samples was assessed by generating HPLC and 13C NMR spectroscopic profiles of the glycosidic acids obtained through saponification of the resin glycoside contents. These profiles distinguish the three Mexican jalaps currently in frequent use and can serve as analytical tools for the authentication and quality control of these purgative herbal drugs. Ipomoea purga, the authentic "jalap root", yielded two new hexasaccharides of convolvulinic and jalapinolic acids, purgic acids A (1) and B (2), respectively. Scammonic acid A (3), a tetrasaccharide, was produced from Ipomoea orizabensis, the Mexican scammony or false jalap. Operculinic acid B (4), a pentasaccharide, was identified in Ipomoea stans. Semipreparative HPLC was performed to obtain pure samples of new compounds 1 and 2 in sufficient quantity to elucidate their structure by high-field NMR spectroscopy. Purgic acid A (1) was identified as (11S)-hydroxytetradecanoic acid 11-O-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-O-[beta-D-fucopyranosyl-(1-->4)]-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-beta-D-quinovopyranoside, while purgic acid B (2) was characterized with (11S)-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid as its aglycon but having the same glycosidation sequence in the oligosaccharide core.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510 DF, Mexico. pereda@servidor.unam.mx
authors.forename: Rogelio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pereda-Miranda
authors.forename: Mabel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fragoso-Serrano
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Escalante-Sanchez
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Carlos
authors.forename: Edelmira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Linares
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bye
mesh_terms: D002400:Cathartics / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D006027:Glycosides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D027741:Ipomoea / Q000737:chemistry*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008800:Mexico; D015394:Molecular Structure; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D012116:Resins, Plant / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002400:Cathartics; D006027:Glycosides; D012116:Resins, Plant; C482480:operculinic acid; C515261:purgic acid A; C515262:purgic acid B