Isolation and Characterization of Bioactive Terpenoids from the Leaves of Ceriops tagal Linn

Plants have been used for medicine from time immemorial because they have fitted the immediate personal need and are easily accessible. These are inexpensive too. In the recent past there has been a tremendous increase in the use of plant based health products in developing as well as developed countries, resulting in an exponential growth of herbal products globally. Herbal medicines have a strong traditional or conceptual base and the potential to be useful as drugs in terms of safety and effectiveness leads for treating different diseases. There are not much chemical investigations on this plant. Ceriops tagal Linn. is a mangrove plant. The leaves of the plant were air dried and dried leaves were used for the detailed chemical and biological investigation. The leaves were extracted with ethanol and the ethanol extract showed promising antidiabetic activity (PTPase inhibitory activity). This prompted us to take up detailed chemical investigation on this plant. We have isolated 12 chemical molecules from the bioassay guided fraction for the location of biological activity. Four molecules [(Stearic acid (94.2%) Betulin (94.4%) (β-hydroxy betulinic acid 90.5%) and (ursolic acid 91.6%)] showed promising PTPase activity at 100 μg/ml