CHEMOTAXONOMIC SURVEY OF ANTHRAQUINONES AND PRE-ANTHRAQUINONES IN ROOTS OF ALOE SPECIES

Root samples from 172 species of Aloe were surveyed by TLC and HPLC fo r the presence of anthraquinones and pre-anthraquinones. With the exce ption of the three species of the series Serrulatae, 1,8-Dihydroxyanth raquinones (chrysophanol and asphodelin) were detected in all the spec ies sampled. Compounds derived through the 1-methyl-8-hydroxyanthraqui none pathway, i.e. aloesaponarin I, aloesaponarin II and laccaic acid D-methyl ester, together with their corresponding pre-anthraquinones w ere detected in 129 species. The results also show that isoeleutherol is a useful chemotaxonomic character for the series Saponarieae.