Phytochemical analysis of Tetraclinis articula in relation to its vasorelaxant property

Tetraclinis articulata (cupressaceae),a traditional moroccan herbal drug is used in oriental morocco to treat diabetes and arterial hypertension. in another study we showed that the crude aqueous extract of t. articulata induces endotheliumdependent relaxation of the isolated rat aorta. the aim of this work is to identify the active compounds that may explain this effect using the bioguided fractionation method. twigs of t. articulata were extracted successively with different solvents and the obtained extracts were tested in phenylephrine-precontracted rat aortic rings. ethyl acetate and methanolic soxhlet extracts have shown a well vasorelaxant activity. then active extracts of t. articulata were analysed by thin layer chromatography (tlc) and liquid chromatography with diode array detection and sometimes mass spectrometry (lcdad/ms). the phytochemical analysis of the extracts has revealed the presence of a number of polyphenolic compounds known for their vasorelaxant effect such as amentoflavone,myricitrin and quercitrin. their presence could explain the traditional use of t. articulata twigs in the treatment of hypertension in oriental morocco.