www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com t Available online a Scholars Research Library Der Pharmacia Lettre, 2016, 8 (2):201-204 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN 0975-5071 USA CODEN: DPLEB4 201 Scholar Research Library Secondary metabolites from Cycas saxatilis Vincent Antonio S. Ng 1 , Esperanza Maribel G. Agoo 2 , and Chien-Chang Shen 3 and Consolacion Y. Ragasa 1,4* 1 Chemistry Department and Natural Products Research and Drug Development, Center for Natural Sciences and Environmental Research, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines, 2 Biology Department, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines 3 National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, 155-1, Li-Nong St., Sec. 2, Taipei, Taiwan 4 Chemistry Department, De La Salle University Science & Technology Complex Leandro V. Locsin Campus, Binan City, Laguna, Philippines _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Chemical investigation of the dichlroromethane extracts of Cycas saxatilis, a plant endemic to the Philippines ledto the isolation of squalene (1), chlorophyll a (2), and hydrocarbon (3) from the leaflets;β-sitosterol (4) and triacylglycerols (5) from theroots; 3,4, and unsaturated fatty acids(6) from the bark; and 3and5 from the petiole and rachis. The structures of 1-6 were identified by comparison of their NMR data with literature data. Keywords: Cycas saxatilis, Cycadaceae, squalene, chlorophyll a, hydrocarbons, β-sitosterol, triacylglycerols, fatty acids _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Cycas resemble palms in morphology and are commonly called sago palm. They are considered as fossil plants though they may have evolved only about 12 million years ago [1]. They are widely distributed in the Tropics [2] where they grow on volcanic, limestone, ultramafic, sandy, or even water-logged soils in grassland and forest habitats [3]. The demand of Cycas species for domestic and international horticultural trade, grassland and forest fires, and conversion of their natural habitats to settlements and other land uses have threatened to varying degrees the wild populations of the genus [4]. Some of these threatened species are C. curranii [5], C. wadei [6] and C. zambalensis as Critically Endangered (CR) [5], C. riuminiana as Endangered (E) [5], and C. saxatilis as Vulnerable (V) [7]. There are no reported chemical and biological activity studies on C. saxatilis. However, a number of studies have been reported on the chemical constituents of other indigenous Philippine Cycas. We earlier reported the chemical constituents of the different parts of C. sancti-lasallei [8-11], C. vespertilio [12, 13], C. zambalensis [14], C. lacrimans [15-17], C. aenigma [18, 19], C. riuminiana [20], C. nitida [21], C. wadei [22], C. edentata [23, 24]and C. mindanaensis [25].