Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
Boophane disticha of the family Amaryllidaceae is used traditionally in southern Africa in the treatment of several neurological disorders.
AIM OF THE STUDY
Although acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity has been reported for this plant, the aim of the study was to identify and characterise the compound responsible for this activity using bioassay guided fractionation. Toxicity of the isolated compound was also assessed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Bioassay guided isolation of the active compound from the methanol extract was carried out using column chromatography, TLC and preparative thin layer chromatography. Structural elucidation was carried out using high field 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopy. AChE inhibitory activity was determined using the Ellman's colorimetric method. Cytotoxicity assessment was determined in human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells using the MTT and neutral red uptake assays.
RESULTS
The data obtained from the integration of the (1)H spectra confirmed the compound to be a 3:1 mixture of two epimers, with epimer A, 6α-hydroxycrinamine as the major epimer. The IC(50) value for AChE inhibitory activity of the compound was 445 μM. The compound was observed to be cytotoxic in both the MTT and neutral red assays with IC(50) values of 54.5 and 61.7 μM, respectively.
CONCLUSION
The present study describes for the first time, the isolation of 6-hydroxycrinamine, a crinine alkaloid, from the methanol extract of the bulbs of B. disticha. Although this compound possessed AChE inhibitory activity, it was found to be toxic to the neuroblastoma cells. Quantitative structure-activity relationship studies could be carried out to modify the structure in order to make it less toxic and improve its activity.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Adewusi EA, Fouche G, Steenkamp V

Institution

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X323, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.

Source

Journal of ethnopharmacology 143:2 2012 Sep 28 pg 572-8

MeSH

Acetylcholinesterase
Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids
Cell Line, Tumor
Cell Survival
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Humans
Liliaceae
Methanol
Plant Extracts
Solvents

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22835813