T-CADINOL - A PHARMACOLOGICALLY ACTIVE CONSTITUENT OF SCENTED MYRRH - INTRODUCTORY PHARMACOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND HIGH-FIELD H-1-NMR AND C-13-NMR DATA

Fractionation of an ethyl acetate extract of scented myrrh (resin of Commiphora guidottii Chiov., Burseraceae), using the guinea pig ileum test to monitor pharmacological activity, resulted in isolation of the sesquiterpene (+)-T-cadinol. High field NMR spectroscopy yielded new detailed H-1- and C-13-NMR data for the compound. T-cadinol was shown to have a concentration-dependent smooth muscle relaxing effect on the isolated guinea pig ileum and a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cholera toxin-induced intestinal hypersecretion in mice.