Chemical and Biological Investigations of Spondias dulcis

Spondias dulcis belonging to the family Anacardiaceae, has been studied for isolation of its secondary metabolites and evaluation of biological activities of the extracts, with especial emphasis on the cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity. The isolated compounds were identified by extensive analyses of their high resolution 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopic data.The structures of the compounds were elucidated as D:A-Friedo-olean-3-one (SD-1), 6-[8-heptadecenyl]salicylic (SD-2) acid and -sitosterone (SD-3). The crude petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts of S. dulcis showed significant antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities, which supports the traditional use of this plant in various infectious diseases. The plant can be further screened against various diseases in order to find out its unexplored efficacy and can be a potential source of chemically interesting and biologically important drug candidates.