Phytochemical Investigations of the Medicinal Plant Swertia Chirata Ham

The fresh stem of the plant Swertia chirata Ham was extracted by rectified spirit. The crude rectified spirit extract was fractionated by using standard chromatographic techniques, on alumina gave several fractions (A, B, C, D, E and F). Fraction D, when subjected to column chromatographic analysis on neutral alumina, yielded a compound, tentatively known as compound AJ-1 m.p. 178°C. In this research work only one compound is isolated. From the spectral evidences, the compound is an alkaloid containing 37 carbon atoms with 52 hydrogen along with secondary or tertiary nitrogen and several OH groups in the molecule. The pure compound AJ-1 has found antidiabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and other different bioactivity tests can be performed for the pure compounds AJ-1.The plant is being used as flok medicine in the treatment of diabetes, jaundice and skin diseases