Oenothera biennis L. (Onagraceae), is a biennial herb, native to eastern and central North America. It is cultivated in temperate regions of the world and in Indian gardens. The plant parts are used to treat gastro-intestinal disorders, eczema, whooping cough, asthma, blood disorders, laziness, obesity, piles and boils. The dried root powder was exhaustively extracted with methanol and the extract concentrated to yield a dark brown viscous mass. It was dissolved in small quantity of methanol

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... adsorbed onto silica gel (60 -120 mesh) for preparation of a slurry. The air dried slurry was subjected to chromatography over silica gel column packed in petroleum ether. The column was eluted successively with petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol in order of increasing polarity to isolate the new phytoconstituents characterized as 3,11,15-trimethyl-14β-hydroxy-n-hexadeca-7-en-4,18olide (phyt-7-enyl-14β-ol 4β,18-olide, 2), 3-methyl-6α,8β-dihydroxy-7-carboxylic acid tetralin-1,9β-olide (3), 3,7-dimethyl-11-hydroxymethylene dodec-3α,6α-diol-11-enyl 2′,3′,6′-benzene triol (4), 1,9,10-trimethoxy-3,11-dihydroxy-13-(18,19-dihydroxyprenyl)-anthracene (5) and α-D-glucopyranosyl-(4→1′)-α-D-glucopyranosyl -6′-cetoleate (6) along with benzoic acid (1). The structures of all the isolated phytoconstituents have been established on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.