The traditional uses and the chloroform extraction of syzygium species / Mohd Hafiz Yusof

Medicinal plants have secured the attention of many researchers from local and overseas. A clear border is still not easy to determine between modem and traditional medicine. In solid fact, modem medicine derives from the traditional use of herbal remedies. One example among many of them is the Syzygium cumini. On the other hand, there is still very active investigation of traditional pharmacopoeias in order to find new substances to add to the pharmaceutical arsenal. In this study, the traditional uses of Syzygium cumini plant were reviewed by collecting the scientific data from various sources. From the literatures, it was found that the major use of this plant is to treat diabetes. A further study was done by characterizing the constituents from the chloroform extract of the leaves from this plant. The extract was introduced to the Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and observed under the ultraviolet (UV) light. A few spots could be observed on the silica gel plate which indicated the presence of some compounds. The isolation of compound via preparative TLC was performed prior to the spectroscopic study. The chemical shifts obtained from the 1H-NMR spectrum were analysed to clarify the chemical composition from the leaves. It was found that the compound purify most likely to be a triterpene. Finally, it was suggested that the compound could be a derivative of stigmasterol.