Isolation of Terpenoids from Trichilia quadrijuga (Meliaceae) by Droplet Counter-Current Chromatography

The Trichilia genus (Meliaceae) consists of about 230 species distributed throughout tropical America and its phytochemical profile is rich in terpenic metabolites. Droplet counter-current chromatography (DCCC) was used for the isolation and purification of secondary metabolites obtained from a dichloromethane fraction (2.9 g) of Trichilia quadrijuga stems. A hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (1:2:1.75:1, v/v/v/v) solvent system was chosen to isolate 2β,3β,4β-trihydroxypregnan-16-one (1, 24.5 mg, 0.8%), kudtdiol (2, 45.0 mg, 1.6%) and 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosylsitosterol (3, 6.0 mg, 0.2%). The results showed that DCCC was a very effective tool for the isolation of terpenes from T. quadrijuga.