Isolation of Flavonoids from Piper delineatum Leaves by Chromatographic Techniques

Abstract

The genus Piper (Piperaceae) is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and species belonging to this genus are included in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and in folklore medicine of Latin America. Phytochemical investigations of Piper species have led to the isolation of several classes of physiologically active compounds such as alkaloids, amides, pyrones, dihydrochalcones, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, lignans and neolignans. In an ongoing investigation of bioactive secondary metabolites from Piper species, herein, we describe the isolation procedure of nine flavonoids, including two chalcones and two flavanones from the leaves of Piper delineatum Trel. (Piperaceae), a shrub native to tropical regions of the Americas. All compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic and spectrometric methods, and comparison with data reported in the literature.