Abstract
Acidic extraction of the stem bark and roots of Chione venosa (SW.) URBAN var. venosa, purchased in Grenada under the vernacular name Bois Bandé, led to the isolation of two new substances of the oxynorneolignan-type. Moreover, TLC- and HPLC-systems were developed in order to determine these substances in crude extracts. Analytical data are indicated for the new compounds, as well as for those substances which were published recently. In the different Caribbean islands different plant sources are used to furnish the aphrodisiac Bois Bandé. On the basis of the presented analytical systems, 14 different samples of Bois Bandé (stem bark and/or root) that were either purchased from local traders or collected at different sites in the Grenadian forest were examined. In addition, an entire macroscopic and microscopic description of the drug is given which, in combination with the phytochemical data, provides a powerful tool to assess the quality of the drug material with regard to its botanical homogeneity.