RESEARCH ARTICLE
Chemical Constituents from the Rhizomes of L.

Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae), is a perennial sedge distributed throughout India and other parts of the world. Its tubers are used as an appetizer, febrifuge and to treat bleeding, blisters, boils, cough, diarrhea, inflammation, lacteal disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, stomach ailments, skin rashes, thirst, vomiting, worm infestation and wounds.

Our study was planned to isolate chemical constituents from the rhizomes of C. rotundus and to characterized their structures.

The air-dried rhizome powder was exhaustively extracted with methanol in a Soxhlet apparatus. The concentrated methanol extract was adsorbed on silica gel (60-120 mesh) for the preparation of a slurry. The dried slurry was chromatographed over silica gel column packed in petroleum ether. The column was eluted with petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol, successively, in order of increasing polarity to isolate the compounds.

Phytochemical investigation of the tubers led to isolate a sesquiterpenone characterized as 12-methyl cyprot-3-en-2-one-13-oic acid (1), two aliphatic ketone viz. n-dotriacontan-15-one (2) and n-tetracontan-7-one (8), fatty esters n-pentadecanyl octadec-9, 12- dienoate (n-pentadecanyl linoleate, 3), n-hexadecanyl linoleate (4), n-hexadecanyl oleate (5) and n-pentacos-13ʹ-enyl octadec-9-enoate (n-pentacos-13ʹ-enyl oleate, 9), two steroidal esters stigmast-5,22–dien-3β –olyl n-dodecanoate (stigmasterol laurate, 6) and stigmast-5, 22-dien-3β-olyl n-tetradecanoate (stigmasterol myristate, 7), β-sitosterol-3β-O-glucoside (10) and a triterpenic glycosidic ester lup-12, 20 (29)-dien-3β-ol-3-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-2'-oleate (lupenyl 3β-O-arabinpyranosyl 2′-oleate, 11). The structures of these compounds were established by spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.

A sesquiterpene identified as cyprot-3-en-2-one-14-oic acid, two aliphatic ketones, fatty esters, two steroidal esters, β-sitosterol-3β-O-glucoside and lupenyl 3β-O-arabinpyranosyl 2′-oleate were isolated for the first time from the rhizomes.