Isolation and structural elucidation of compounds from Australian populations of Portulaca oleracea

Portulaca oleracea is a globally significant medicinal herb and food source. It has been used to treat diabetes, infection, pain and numerous other ailments. Many of P. oleracea's medicinal uses have been verified by scientific studies. Populations of P. oleracea found in Australia are morphologically distinct from those found in other countries. There is also record of this plant's use for food and medicine by multiple Australian Aboriginal communities. Despite this, Australian populations of P. oleracea have received little scientific attention. This study looked at P. oleracea collected in Wagga Wagga, Australia, believed to be a globally prevalent variety, and compared it with samples bred from two Australian populations, one from Lake Eyre and the other from the Kimberley. Previous LC-MS work conducted by collaborators at Charles Sturt University had shown the two Australian populations to contain potentially novel betacyanins and oleraceins. Both classes of chemicals are known to be antioxidants and have been shown to have other medicinal properties. This study covers the successful extraction of betacyanins and oleraceins from each of the three populations and confirmation by structural elucidation of the presence of oleraceins C and D in two of the three populations investigated -- abstract.