Aislamiento y caracterización de principios activos del extracto en etanol de las hojas de Croton lehmanii Pax

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to isolate and characterize the active compounds present in the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Croton lehmannii Pax, a species belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. The extract was subjected to dechlorophyllation, fractionation and purification processes using chromatographic techniques. The isolated compounds were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). From the analyzes carried out, the presence of three triterpenes (lupeol, α-amyrin and cycloeucalenyl acetate) were identified, compounds that have antiinflammatory, analgesic and anti-cancer potential properties. α-Amyrin could not be detected by GC-MS, due to its low volatility, evidencing the need to use derivatization techniques to facilitate its analysis. Together, these results contribute to the knowledge of the chemical composition of Croton lehmannii and to the phytochemical study of native species from Ecuador.