Isolation, characterization and biological activity of betulinic acid and ursolic acid from Vitex negundo L.

Two pentacyclic triterpenoids, betulinic acid (3beta-hydroxylup-20-(29)-en-28-oic acid) (3), and ursolic acid (2beta-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid) (4), were isolated for the first time from leaves of Vitex negundo L. along with three other compounds; an aliphatic alcohol n-hentriacontanol (1), beta-sitosterol (2) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (5). Their antifeedant activity against the larvae of an agricultural pest, the castor semilooper (Achoea janata), in a no-choice laboratory assay and their antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, by the paper disc method, were tested. Ursolic acid (4) showed more effective antifeedant activity than the betulinic acid (3). However, both these compounds have shown a very mild antibacterial activity. The other three compounds; n-hentriacontanol (1), beta-sitosterol (2) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (5) have shown a little antifeedant activity against the larvae and did not show any antibacterial activity. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.