and

In connection with pharmacological properties ascribed to the seeds of Celas-trus paniculatus Willd. (Hindi: Malkanguni), a plant mentioned in old Indian medi-cal literature, the composition of the components of these seeds has been studied. In 1938, Gunde and Hilditch 1) investigated the fat of the aril-free seeds of Celastrus paniculatus and, by extraction with 80 % MeOH aq., segregated it into glY-ceride and non glyceride fractions. From the latter fraction, these authors iso-lated, after saponification and acetylation of the neutral part, a resinous product which on the basis of element analysis, was considered to be the tetra-acetate of a tetrahydroxylic alcohol with an approximate composition ClSH2SOS. The nature of this compound(s), however, could not be defined. Some years ago, a more detailed investigation of this polyalcohol mixture was undertaken, independently, by two different groups, in Indiaa) and in the Nether-lands3). We find that several polyhydric alcohols are present and now report on the structure of one of the major constituents. This compound, now called malkanguniol (I) is a crystalline solid, m.p. 171-172