Phytochemical studies of the aerial parts of Euphorbia rigida afforded three triterpenes: betulin (1), cycloart-23Z-ene-3, 25-diol (2) and cycloartan-3, 24, 25-triol (3), firstly isolated from this plant. The structures and relative stereochemistry were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR experiments (1H NMR, 13C NMR, COSY, NOESY, HMQC and HMBC).
Keywords: Euphorbia rigida; Euphorbiaceae; cycloartan triterpene.