Herbal remedies of the Maritime Indians: phytosterols and triterpenes of 67 plants.

The phytosterols and triterpenes of the non-saponifiable lipid fraction of 67 local plants, many of which are Micmac and Malecite medicinal plants, were determined by comparing their relative retention times with those of known compounds on three different gas liquid chromatography columns. Results have been tabulated to indicate relative amounts. For many of these plants, sterols and triterpenes do not constitute a major proportion of the plant. The predominant sterol was beta-sitosterol and the predominant triterpenes were usually alpha- and beta- amyrin. A number of undetermined triterpenes were detected, some in relatively large amounts.