*Corresponding Author Address: Dr. Mohammed Ali, Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110 062, India; E-mail: maliphyto@gmail.com Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences ISSN: 2320-1924; CODEN: JPBSEV Published by Atom and Cell Publishers © All Rights Reserved Available online at: http://www.jpabs.org/ Original Article Aliphatic alcohols, alkylated aromatic and triterpenic constituents from the aerial parts of Rhus chinensis Mill. Mohammed Ali 1 *, Shahnaz Sultana 1,2 and Showkat Rasool Mir 1 1 Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi- 110 062, India. 2 College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia Received: 14-11-2016 / Revised Accepted: 27-12-2016 / Published: 01-01-2017 ABSTRACT Rhus chinensis Mill. (Anacardiaceae), occurs as a deciduous tree in India, China, Korea, Japan and south eastern Asia. Its leaf decoction is used to treat haemoptysis, inflammations, laryngitis, skin rashes, snake bite, stomach-ache and traumatic fractures. The fruits and seeds are taken to relieve coughs, diarrhea, dysentery, fevers, jaundice, malaria, rheumatism, stomachache, indigestion, intestinal worms, skin diseases, vomiting and as an antitoxin. The powdered aerial parts of R. chinensis (1 kg) were extracted with methanol in a Soxhlet apparatus. The extract was concentrated in vacuum to yield a brown semisolid mass (121 g). It was dissolved in minimum amount of methanol to adsorb on silica gel for column for preparation of a slurry. The slurry was dried in air and subjected to silica gel column loaded in petroleum ether. The column was eluted with petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol in order of increasing polarity to isolate 1-heneicosanol (1), n-octacosan-9α-ol (2), benzyloxyhexadecane (3), 2-n-hexadecanyl benzoic acid (4), α-amyrin (5), 2β,3β,22β-trihydroxylanostan- 23β,25-olide (rhuslanostanolide, 6), 12-dehydrobetulinic acid 3-O-β-D- glucopyranoside (7) and oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8). The structures of all the isolated phytoconstituents have been established on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions. Keywords: Rhus chinensis, aerial parts, chemical constituents, isolation, characterization. INTRODUCTION Rhus chinensis Mill. syn. R. osbeckii Carriere, R. semialata Murray (Anacardiaceae), occurs as a deciduous tree in India, China, Korea, Japan and south eastern Asia. It is found in the outer Himalayan ranges at an altitude of 1,000–23,00 m, the hills of Assam, Khasia, Naga and Sikkim in India, upper Burma, China and Japan [1-4] . Its leaf decoction is taken to treat haemoptysis, inflammations, laryngitis, skin rashes, snake bite, stomach-ache and traumatic fractures. The fruits and seeds are used to relieve coughs, diarrhea, dysentery, fevers, jaundice, malaria, rheumatism, stomachache, indigestion, intestinal worms, skin diseases, vomiting and as an antitoxin [5-7] . R. chinensis compounds possess strong antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities [7] . The fruits contained β-sitosterol, morolic acid, 1-O- heptatriacontanoyl glycerol, α-monpalmitin, palmitic, protocatechuic and gallic acids and methyl, ethyl and propyl gallates [8] . Hexadecanoic acid, phytol and heptacosane were present in leaf essential oils of different location. N-Tetradecane (12.8%) was detected in Khaili sample of China [9] . The leaves possessed quercetin, its 3-rhamnoside, hyperoside, quercetin and kaempferol [10,11] . This paper describes isolation and characterization of chemical constituents from the aerial parts of R. chinensis. MATERIALS AND METHODS General procedure: Melting points were determined on a Perfit apparatus without correction. The infrared (IR) spectra were measured in KBr pellet on a Bio‑Rad Fourier transform‑IR spectrometer (Spectra Lab Scientific Inc., Ontario, Canada). Ultraviolet (UV) spectra were obtained in methanol with a Lambda Bio 20 spectrometer (Perkin‑Elmer, Rotkreuz,