Chemical Investigations of Tropical Medicinal Plants, XXI [1] Long Chain Alkyl Esters of Ferulic and p-Coumaric Acid from Bauhinia manca

Abstract

Bauhibia manca (Leguminosae) is a vine growing in the lowland forests of Costa Rica and Panama [2]. In Costa Rica, an infusion of the stems and leaves is taken as an astringent and diuretic, and as a remedy for diabetes[3,4] An antidiabetic effect is also claimed by a pharmacological study [5]. Since nothing is known about the constituents of Bauhinia manca we started phytochemical investigations of the woody parts of this plant. from the petrol extract a number of long-chain alkyl esters of ferulic and p-coumaric were isolated.