Extractives of Australian timbers. XVI. The constituents of the wood of Eugenia crebrinervis (syn. Syzigium crebrinerve) and Eugenia gustavioides (syn. Cleistocalyx gustavioides)

Abstract

Extraction of the wood of Eugenia crebrinervis has yielded ellagic acid and a triterpenoid fraction composed of a 1 : 1 mixture of asiatic acid and arjunolic acid. Extraction of the wood of Eugenia gustavioides has given a mixture of triterpenoid acids (2.7 % of the dry weight of the wood) of which crategolic acid (c.1%) is the principal constituent; other major constituents are asiatic acid and arjunolic acid, while oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and 2α-hydroxyursolic acid are minor constituents.In both Eugenia species the α-amyrin component occurs with the corresponding β-amyrin analogue giving a mixture separable only with difficulty; use has been made of the previously described chlorination procedure1 to enable comparatively easy isolation of the α-amyrin component.