~ 182 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2016; 5(2): 182-186 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2016; 5(2): 182-186 Received: 22-01-2016 Accepted: 24-02-2016 Mohammed Ali Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi 110062, India. Shahnaz Sultana a) Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi 110062, India. b) Present address: College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Correspondence Mohammed Ali Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi 110062, India. Glycosidic ester and tetra- and hexaglycosides from the fruits of Lycium chinense Miller Mohammed Ali, Shahnaz Sultana Abstract The fruits of Lycium chinense (Solanaceae) Miller possess emmenagogue, diuretic, antipyretic and hepatoprotective properties and are used to stimulate the immune system, to increase hormonal growth, to improve blood circulation and eye sight and to cure morning sickness. Phytochemical investigation of an aqueous alcoholic (80%) extract of the fruits gave two new glycosidic aliphatic esters, characterized as 1- linoleoyl-6-linoleneoyl β-D- glucopyranoside (1) and arachidyl-O-β-D-arabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-2′-O- β-D-arabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-2′′-O-β-D-arabinopyranosyl –(1→2)-2′′′-O-β-D-arabinopyranoside (2) and one each tetra- and hexaglycosides identified as α-D-galactopyranosyl-(2→1′)-O-α-D- xylopyranosyl-(2′→1′′)-O-α-D-xylopyranosyl-(2′′→1′′′)-α-D-xylopyranoside (3) and β- D- galacturanopyranosyl-(6→1)–O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6→1)–O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6→1)-β-D- glucopyranosyl-(6→1)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6→1)-β-D-glucopyranoside (4). The structures of these phytoconstituents have been elucidated on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions. Keywords: Lycium chinense, fruits, glycosidic aliphatic esters, polyglycosides, structure elucidation 1. Introduction Lycium chinense Miller (Solanaceae), known as Goji berry or Gou-qu-zi, is a cold-hard, perennial shrub. Its origin is believed to be in the region of south-eastern Europe and south- western Asia, but now it is cultivated throughout the world. Today China is the largest producer of this fruit. The dried form of this fruit is emmenagogue, diuretic, antipyretic and hepatoprotective and marketed in Ayurvedic and herbal health shops as the Tibetan or Himalayan Goji berry. The red-orange ellipsoid fruits stimulate the immune system due to high vitamin C contents, increase human growth hormone and sperm production and improve blood circulation and eye sight. The berries are taken by pregnant females to prevent morning sickness and to alleviate hepatitis and insomnia, to improve memory, to provide longevity and as a tonic in traditional oriental medicine. The fruits exhibited hypotensive, antipyretic and hypoglycemic activities [1, 2] . They have properties like nourishing the blood, enriching the yin, tonifying the kidney and the liver, and moistening the lungs [2, 3] . They are useful for reducing the risk of certain diseases such as arteriosclerosis, essential arterial hypertension, diabetes and night blindness [4-9] . The dried ripe fruits are an ingredient of herbal drugs and functional foods [10] . Goji berry contained sterols, polysaccharides, zeaxanthin and antioxidants like as lutein, β- carotene, vitamin C and lycopene. Potentially hepatoprotective glycolipid constituents and determination of betain in L. chinense fruits have been reported [11, 12] . Di- and tetraterpene glycosides and polyglycosides of fatty acids are published in recent reports from L. chinense fruits [13-16] . This paper describes isolation and characterization of glycosidic ester and tetra- and hexaglycosides from the berries of L. chinense available locally. 2. Materials and Method 2.1. General procedure Melting points were determined on a Perfit apparatus without correction. The IR spectra were measured in KBr pellet on a Bio-Red FT-IR spectrometer. Ultraviolet (UV) spectra were obtained in methanol with a Lambda Bio 20 spectrometer. The 1 H (400 MHz), 13 C (100 MHz), COSY and HMBC NMR spectra were recorded on Bruker spectrospin spectrometer. DMSO- D6 (Sigma-Aldrich, Bangalore, India) was used as a solvent and TMS as an internal standard. ESI MS analyses were performed on a Waters Q-TOF Premier (Micromass MS Technologies, Manchester, UK) Mass Spectrometer. Column chromatography separations were carried out on silica gel (Merck, 60–120 mesh, Mumbai, India).