ACYL AND STIGMASTEROL ESTERS FROM THE RHIZOMES OF CYPERUS ROTUNDUS L

Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae), is a perennial sedge distributed throughout India and other tropical and temperate regions of the world. Its tubers are used as appetizer and anti-inflammatory and to treat thirst, pyrexia, cough, vomiting, rheumatoid arthritis, worm infestation, stomach ailments, diarrhoea, skin diseases, wounds and bleeding. Phytochemical investigation of the tubers led to the isolation of new acyl and sterol esters, characterized as n-pentadecanyl octadec-9, 12- dienoate (1), stigmast-5,22–dien-3β –olyl dodecanoate (2), stigmast-5, 22-dien-3β-olyl tetradecanoate (3) and n-pentacos-13′-enyl octadec- 9-enoate (4) together with β-sitosterol glucoside. The structures of these phytoconstituent, isolated for the first time from the tubers, have been established by spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.