Three new triterpenes from the seeds of Combretum quadrangulare and their hepatoprotective activity

Three new triterpenes of the lupane type, 2 alpha ,6 beta -dihydroxybetulin ic acid (1) and 6 beta -hydroxyhovenic acid (2), and an oleanane type, 6 be ta -hydroxyarjunic acid (3). together with several known compounds, have be en isolated from the MeOH extract of the seeds of Combretum quadrangulare. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectrosc opic analysis, and their hepatoprotective activities were tested for D-GalN -TNF-alpha -induced cell death in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes.