Cucurbitacin Glycosides from the Fruits of Citrullus colocynthis (L).

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae) is an Iranian medicinal plant that has traditionally been used as an abortifacient and to treat constipation, oedema, bacterial infections, cancer and diabetes. As part of our on-going studies on Iranian medicinal plants, thorough phytochemical investigation was carried out on this plant. Solvent extraction method was employed to isolate compounds from the ethyl acetate and ethyl methyl ketone fractions of the hydro-ethanolic (90%) extract of the fruits of the locally grown C. colocynthis. Structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic means. Two cucurbitacin glucosides, 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosylcucurbitacin I and 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosylcucurbitacin L were isolated and identified.