Stress degradation studies on embelin

Embelin, a naturally occurring benzoquinone, is obtained from fruits of Embelia ribes, which plays a vital role in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. The benzoquinone has diverse pharmacological and therapeutic properties and now constitutes a part of modern medicine. The aim of our study was to observe the effect of various stress conditions on this potential drug candidate. Embelin was subjected to stress conditions of acid and alkaline hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. A significant degradation was found to occur by acid hydrolysis, oxidation and to a lesser extent under thermal stress and alkaline hydrolysis; the compound was found to be stable to photolytic stress. Further, the degradation product resulting from the acid hydrolysis was isolated and its structure was elucidated using spectroscopic techniques. Stress degradation studies on embelin provide an insight for its stability and storage considering the formulation aspects of modern medicine.