Isolation of Griffonilide from the Stem Bark of Bauhinia Thonningii

The bark of Bauhinia thonningii (Schum) Milne Redh. (Caesalpiniaceae) is used in many parts of Africa in the treatment of a number of inflammatory conditions (1,2). Previous phytochemical investigation of the bark collected from Portuguese Guinea led to the isolation of some aliphatic acids, rhamnetin, a carotenoid, and an unidentified sterol (3). We now wish to report the isolation of a γ-lactone from the bark collected near Kano, Nigeria. © 1986, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.