OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents of Nauclea latifolia, which is an African folk medicine and collected from Guinea.

METHODThe chemical constituents were isolated by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies, and structurally elucidated by spectral evidence together with physiochemical properties.

RESULTTwelve compounds including 8 triterpenes and 4 sterols were isolated from the roots of N. latifolia, and their structures were defined as 24-en-cycloartenone (1), ursolic aldehyde (2), quinovic acid (3), rotundic acid (4), 3beta,19alpha,23,24-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (5), pyrocincholic acid 3beta-O-beta-D-fucopyranoside (6), quinovic acid 3beta-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), quinovic acid-3b-O-D-glucopyranosyl-(28-->1)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (8), beta-sitosterol (9), stigmastan-3,6-dione (10), stigmast-4-en-6beta-ol-3-one (11) and daucosterol (12) .

CONCLUSIONAll compounds except for 4,9, andl2 are isolated from this plant for the fist time, while compounds 2, 6, 10, and 11 are isolated from the genus Nauclea for the first time.

Chromatography ; methods ; Guinea ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rubiaceae ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Sterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification