Thesis (M.Sc. in Pharm.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2001

In an attempt to find supporting evidence for the reputed analgesic and antiinflammatory properties of Dracaena loureiri, a chemical investigation of the stem of this plant was initiated, and this led to the isolation of nine pure compounds, including four retrodihydrochalcones, two homoisoflavanones and three stilbenes. Through interpretation of their spectroscopic data (UV, IR, MS and NMR), these isolates were identified as a new homoisoflavanone, the structure of which was assigned as 3, 5, 7-trihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-4-chromanone, and eight known compounds, including 2,4'-dihydroxy-4,6-dimethoxydihydrochalcone, 4,4'-dihydroxy-2,6-di-methoxydihydrochalcone, loureirin B, loureirin D, 5,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxy-benzyl)-4-chromanone, pterostilbene, pinostilbene and resveratrol. Each of these compounds was evaluated for its COX-2 inhibitory activity. It was found that pterostilbene, pinostilbene and resveratrol possessed the most potent activity. The data suggested that these stilbenoids could be the active principles responsible for the medicinal claims of D. loureiri.