An Active Glycoside from Albizia Species and its Action on Isolated Uterus and Ileum

Abstract

Abstract An active oxytocic principle was extracted from Albizia gummifera (Lipton, 1959) by continuous percolation of the dry bark with methanol. Further purification was by dialysis, fractional extraction and precipitation with organic solvents, and by chromatography on alumina. The concentration of activity achieved was 200 times that of the dried bark, measured in vitro on strips of uterus. The active principle is a saponin, giving on hydrolysis an unsaturated triterpene acid (probably C30H48O5), and four sugars, glucose, rhamnose, xylose and arabinose. The principle has a powerful action on isolated uterine tissues from different species, resistant to atropine, antihistamines and brief boiling in aqueous or alcoholic solution, but it fails to excite guinea-pig ileum even in high concentrations. The material, for which the name ‘albitocin’ is proposed, is thought to be potentially valuable in the study of smooth muscle, particularly uterine muscle. The use of these plants by African native doctors, and their possible implication in the high incidence of uterine rupture in Uganda is discussed.