A rare phytosterol, stigmast-5-en-3β,7α,22α-triol and other secondary metabolites from Leea indica showing enhanced in vitro cell migration and proangiogenic activity.

Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr. (Vitaceae) is used for the treatment of wounds in traditional medicine practiced in Sri Lanka. The current study is carried out to investigate its wound healing potential in terms of in vitro cell migration and proangiogenic activity. The scratch wound assay (SWA) guided fractionation of dichloromethane extract of L. indica led to the isolation of a rare phytosterol, stigmast-5-en-3β,7α,22α-triol (1), betulin (2), lupeol (3), and β-sitosterol (4) all of which showed enhanced cell migration in SWA and significant proangiogenic response in chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The identities of compounds 1-4 were established by the analysis of NMR spectroscopic data and comparison with those reported. This is the first report of the occurrence of compounds 1 and 2 in L. indica.