Characterization of some compounds isolated from Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaf extract

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background: </strong>For thousands of years, several people depend on traditional medicines from flowers, bark, leaves and fruits of plants. Sweet Basil (<em>Ocimum basilicum L.</em>) is a medicinal herb which belongs to the family of Labiatae and it is the most abundant of the genus <em>Ocimum.</em> The present study aimed to isolate pure compounds from chloroform/methanol (1:1) crude extract of the leaves of <em>O. basilicum </em>herb and characterize them using infra-red (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The sample of powdered leaves of <em>O. basilicum </em>was extracted using a mixture of chloroform and methanol (1:1) and the crude extract was investigated for its chemical composition using spectroscopic techniques.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Only one fraction designated as <em>O. basilicum </em>-14 (OB-14) displayed a single spot on TLC plate. Results showed that two isomeric compounds named <em>(1-(2-vinylcyclohexa-1,4-dienyl) propan-2-ol and 2-(2-vinylcyclohexa-1,5-dienyl) propan-1-ol) </em>were isolated as a mixtures using column chromatography over silica gel. The structures of these compounds were identified using IR and one dimensional NMR spectroscopic techniques such as proton NMR (<sup>1</sup>H NMR), carbon-13 NMR (<sup>13</sup>C NMR) and distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT).</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> So, more compounds can be isolated from the plant using different chromatographic techniques.</p>