Phytochemical and pharmacognositc investigation of Bauhinia forficata Link (Leguminosae)

We have isolated two phytoconstituents present in the B. forficata leaves, a medicinal plant employed in folk medicine specially for the treatment of diabetes. These compounds were isolated by column chromatography and identified as beta-sitosterol and kaempferol-3,7-dirhamnoside (kaempferitrin) by spectroscopical data and comparison with authentic samples. A comparative study with different parts of the plant indicated that the latter is present only in the leaves, suggesting that it might be useful for a suitable quality control of phytotherapeutics which contain this organ of B. forficata in its composition.