Quinonemethide triterpenoids, known as celastroloids, constitute a relatively\nsmall group of biologically active compounds restricted to the Celastraceae family and, therefore,\nthey are chemotaxonomic markers for this family. Among this particular type of metabolite,\npristimerin and tingenone are considered traditional medicines in Latin America. The aim of this\nstudy was the isolation of the most abundant celastroloids from the root bark of Maytenus chiapensis,\nand thereafter, to develop an analytical method to identify pristimerin and tingenone in the\nCelastraceae species. Methods: Pristimerin and tingenone were isolated from the n-hexane-Et2O\nextract of the root bark of M. chiapensis through chromatographic techniques, and were used as\ninternal standards. Application of a validated RP HPLC-PDA method was developed for the\nsimultaneous quantification of these two metabolites in three different extracts, n-hexane-Et2O,\nmethanol, and water, to determine the best extractor solvent. Results: Concentration values showed\ngreat variation between the solvents used for extraction, with the n-hexaneâ??Et2O extract being the\nrichest in pristimerin and tingenone. Conclusions: M. chiapensis is a source of two biologically\nactive quinonemethide triterpenoids. An analytical method was developed for the qualification and\nquantification of these two celastroloids in the root bark extracts of M. chiapensis. The validated\nmethod reported herein could be extended and be useful in analyzing Celastraceae species and real\ncommercial samples.
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