Anti-leukemic activity of Dillenia indica L. fruit extract and quantification of betulinic acid by HPLC

The methanolic extract of Dillenia indica L. fruits showed significant anti-leukemic activity in human leukemic cell lines U937, HL60 and K562. This finding led to fractionation of the methanolic extract, on the basis of polarity, in which the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest anti-leukemic activity. A major compound, betulinic acid, was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction by silica gel column chromatography and was identified and characterized. Betulinic acid could explain the anti-leukemic activity of the methanolic extract and the ethyl acetate fraction. Hence the quantitative estimation of betulinic acid was approached in methanolic extract and fractions using HPLC.