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Planta Med 2011; 77(9): 945-950
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1250674
Natural Product Chemistry
Original Papers
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Chemical Characterization of a Commercial Commiphora wightii Resin Sample and Chemical Profiling to Assess for Authenticity

Rida Ahmed1 , 2 , Zulfiqar Ali1 , 2 , Yunshan Wu3 , Swapnil Kulkarni3 , Mitchell A. Avery3 , Muhammed Iqbal Choudhary2 ,  Atta-ur-Rahman2 , Ikhlas A. Khan1 , 4
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 2H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
  • 3Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 4Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
Further Information

Publication History

received October 7, 2010 revised Nov. 24, 2010

accepted Dec. 7, 2010

Publication Date:
14 January 2011 (online)

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Abstract

The gum resin of Commiphora wightii [(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl.] is an ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of arthritis, inflammation, obesity, lipid disorders, and cardiovascular diseases and is known as guggul. Morphologically, it is not easy to distinguish guggul from closely related gum resins of other plants. Reliability of the commercially available guggul is critical due to the high risk of adulteration. To check authenticity, a commercial guggul sample was investigated for its chemical markers and 17 metabolites were identified, including three new, 20(S),21-epoxy-3-oxocholest-4-ene (1), 8β-hydroxy-3,20-dioxopregn-4,6-diene (2), and 5-(13′Z-nonadecenyl)resorcinol (17) from the ethyl acetate soluble part. During the current study, compounds 14–17 were identified as constituents of Mangifera indica gum, as an adulterant in the commercial guggul sample. This discovery highlighted the common malpractices in the trade of medicinal raw material in the developing world. The structures of the compounds were deduced by the spectroscopic technique and chemical methods, as well as by comparison with the reported data. The structure of 20(S),21-epoxy-3-oxocholest-4-ene (1) was also unambiguously deduced by single-crystal X‐ray diffraction technique.

Key words

Commiphora wightii - guggul - Burseraceae - Mangifera indica - single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction

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Prof. Ikhlas A. Khan

National Center for Natural Products Research
School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi

University, MS 38677

USA

Phone: +1 66 29 15 78 21

Fax: +1 66 29 15 79 89

Email: ikhan@olemiss.edu

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