Chemical constituents from Lotus pusillus Medik

Abstract

1. Subject and sourceFamily Fabaceae (Leguminosae) is one of the largest families of the flowering plants, with approximately 720–750 generadivided into 36–40 tribes and 18,000 species (Wink and Mohamed, 2003; Mabberley, 2007). The members of this family aredistributed throughout the world and split into three subfamilies (Papilionoideae or Faboideae, Caesalpinioideae, andMimosoideae) (Quezel and Santa,1963).The genus Lotus belonging to the subfamily Papilionoideae and the tribe Loteae comprises 14 sections with 120–130species, mainly distributed around the Mediterranean region. It is well represented in Algeria by fifteen species, includingLotus pusillus Medik. (Quezel and Santa,1963). L. pusillus Medik. also known as Lotus halophilus Boiss. & Spruner belonging tothesectionLoteae(Degtjarevaetal.,2006),isasmallplantthatgrowsinsandyaridanddesertpasturesofAlgeria(QuezelandSanta,1963). The plant materiel was collected in April 2009 in the vicinity of Biskra (Algeria) and was identified by Pr BachirOudjehih, Agronomic Department of the University of Batna, where a voucher specimen has been deposited (N 602/LCCE).2. Previous workPrevious investigations on the chemical composition of Lotus species showed that flavonoids such as kaempferol, quer-cetin,isorhamnetinandtheirglycosidederivativeswerepresent(Jayetal.,1978;Reynaudetal.,1982;Strittmatteretal.,1992;