HIGH-SPEED COUNTERCURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHIC-SEPARATION OF BIFLAVANOIDS FROM GARCINIA-KOLA SEEDS

Garcinia kola Heckel (Guttiferae) known in commerce as ''bitter kola'' is used extensively in Nigeria and Ghana for the treatment of coughs, mouth infection, liver disorders and antidote for arrow poisons. In o ur studies extracts of seed displayed appreciable activity against sev eral selected microorganisms. To identify the antimicrobial compounds and study other biological effects of G. kola and its constituents, we have separated the constituents of the ethyl acetate extract of defat ted seeds by high-speed counter-current chromatography. Using this tec hnique with the solvent system n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water ( 1:4:2.5:2.5, upper phase as the stationary phase and the lower phase a s the mobile phase), the ethyl acetate extract provided seven products . Four of these have been characterized as 3-8 linked biflavanoids, ko laflavanone, GB-1, GB-1a and GB-2 by spectral data.