Isolation and evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of epigallocatechin from Senegalia rugata along with pufas

Senegalia rugata (Lam.) Britton & Rose, Synonym: Acacia concinna (Wild.) DC., Family: Fabaceae is one of the ayurvedic medicinal plant and commonly known as shikakai. The pods of S. rugata are normally used for cleansing of hair naturally due to the presence of higher content of saponins. In this study, we have isolated six compounds consisting of epigallocatechin (monomeric proanthocyanidin) from ethanol extract of S. rugata and a mixture of methyl esters of five polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA): methyl oleate, glyceryl trilinoleate, methyl linoleate methyl eicosenoate and methyl vernolate from petroleum ether extract of S rugata. The structures of the six compounds were elucidated using ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR and IR spectral studies. Epigallocatechin has shown significant in vitro anti-inflammatory property in a dose-dependent manner using the HRBC membrane stabilization method.