Article
Plant Sciences
Nieves Martinez-Peinado, Javier E. Ortiz, Maria Jesus Pinazo, Joaquim Gascon, Alejandro Tapia, German Roitman, Jaume Bastida, Gabriela E. Feresin, Julio Alonso-Padilla
Summary: This study identified alkaloids with anti-T. cruzi activity from Habranthus brachyandrus collected in Argentina. The alkaloid ismine showed specific activity against the parasite and low toxicity against liver cells. These findings provide a new direction for the development of drugs for Chagas disease.
Article
Plant Sciences
Joao Victor Dutra Gomes, Cristina Luz Tosta, Alvaro da Cunha Neto, Christopher William Fagg, Cristian Aldemar Gasca Silva, Kicia Karinne Pereira Gomes-Copeland, Perola Oliveira Magalhaes, Yris Maria Fonseca-Bazzo, Claudia Masrouah Jamal, Damaris Silveira
Summary: Two different alkaloid-guided extraction approaches were used to obtain extracts and fractions of leaves and bulbs from Crinum americanum L. Various bioactive compounds were identified in the extracts, with some showing AChE inhibition activity and cytotoxic effects on SH-SY5Y cells. This study highlights the presence of secondary metabolites in the plant material after organic extraction, providing insights into the chemical composition of C. americanum.
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Javier E. Ortiz, Mauricio Pineiro, Nieves Martinez-Peinado, Patricia Barrera, Miguel Sosa, Jaume Bastida, Julio Alonso-Padilla, Gabriela E. Feresin
Summary: This study evaluated the anti-T. cruzi activity of the alkaloid candimine isolated from a plant, and assessed its combination effect with benznidazole, an existing drug. The results showed that candimine exhibited high anti-parasitic activity, and its combination with benznidazole enhanced its efficacy against T. cruzi, suggesting its potential as a new therapy for Chagas disease.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carlos Fernandez-Galleguillos, Javier Romero-Parra, Adrian Puerta, Jose M. Padron, Mario J. Simirgiotis
Summary: This research identifies the alkaloid profile of the Amaryllidaceae plant Phycella cyrtanthoides and evaluates its enzyme inhibition and antiproliferative effects. The study reveals that P. cyrtanthoides contains diverse bioactive alkaloids with potential therapeutic applications for neurodegenerative diseases.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ngoc-Thao-Hien Le, Steven De Jonghe, Kristien Erven, Tom Vermeyen, Aliou M. Balde, Wouter A. Herrebout, Johan Neyts, Christophe Pannecouque, Luc Pieters, Emmy Tuenter
Summary: This study investigated the bioactive constituents of Hymenocallis littoralis and identified three previously undescribed compounds, as well as six known compounds. Some of these compounds showed weak inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Furthermore, a preliminary structure-activity relationship for lycorine-type alkaloids in anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity was explored, suggesting the importance of ring C.
Article
Plant Sciences
Luciana R. R. Tallini, Edison H. H. Osorio, Strahil Berkov, Laura Torras-Claveria, Maria L. Rodriguez-Escobar, Francesc Viladomat, Alan W. W. Meerow, Jaume Bastida
Summary: Plant biodiversity is a significant source of medicinal compounds. This study identified and analyzed the alkaloid profiles of three different Rauhia species from Peru, and evaluated their potential application in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The results showed that R. multiflora is an important natural source of galanthamine-type structures, which could be used for the development of biotechnological tools for sustainable production of galanthamine.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel Zaragoza-Puchol, Javier E. Ortiz, Alejandro A. Orden, Marianela Sanchez, Jorge Palermo, Alejandro Tapia, Jaume Bastida, Gabriela E. Feresin
Summary: Plants in the Amaryllidaceae family produce a variety of bioactive alkaloids. This study focused on analyzing the alkaloids in Habranthus cardenasianus bulbs, evaluating their inhibitory activity against cholinesterases, and testing different propagation strategies. The results showed that cut-induced bulb division was the best propagation method and optimal seed germination conditions were 0 days post-collection and two days of imbibition.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Mariola Herbet, Jaroslaw Widelski, Iwona Piatkowska-Chmiel, Kamil Pawlowski, Aleksandra Dymek, Tomasz Mroczek
Summary: This study evaluated the safety and pharmacological activity of compounds obtained from various plant extracts, and found that these compounds have a high safety profile and significantly improve rodent memory.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Luis Diaz, Willy Cely-Veloza, Ericsson Coy-Barrera
Summary: Genista monspessulana is an invasive shrub that has reproductive vigor in many areas. In this study, ethanolic seed extracts from ten accessions of G. monspessulana were evaluated for their anti-proliferative activity against four cell lines. The extracts were also analyzed to determine their chemical composition. Seven bioactive compounds were identified and found to exhibit dose-dependent antiproliferative activity against the cell lines. These compounds were used to obtain a quinolizidine-pyranoisoflavone adduct, which showed comparable activity to curcumin. The study demonstrates the advantages of the composition-activity associative approach in identifying bioactive compounds efficiently.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marilu Roxana Soto-Vasquez, Paul Alan Arkin Alvarado-Garcia, Edison H. Osorio, Luciana R. Tallini, Jaume Bastida
Summary: The antileishmanial activity of an alkaloid extract from Clinanthus milagroanthus bulbs was evaluated against Leishmania braziliensis. The extract inhibited the growth of the parasite at different concentrations and showed potential binding capabilities with a specific enzyme. This study provides scientific evidence for the development of bioactive molecules from C. milagroanthus.
Article
Microbiology
Mauricio Pineiro, Javier E. Ortiz, Renata Spina M. Zapata, Patricia A. Barrera, Miguel A. Sosa, German Roitman, Jaume Bastida, Gabriela E. Feresin
Summary: Seven Argentinean Hippeastrum species were found to have strong antiparasitic and anticholinesterase activities. The alkaloids and cholinesterase inhibitors in these plant extracts showed potential in the treatment of Chagas disease. The combination of montanine and benznidazole demonstrated a synergistic effect.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juana Goulart Stollmaier, Jared Thomson, Mary Ann Endoma-Arias, Razvan Simionescu, Alexandra Vernaza, Nakya Mesa-Diaz, Mitchell Smith, Liqin Du, Alexander Kornienko, Tomas Hudlicky
Summary: This article presents a method for synthesizing C-1 analogues of narciclasine, in which natural narciclasine is protected and converted to its C-1 enol derivative using a novel semi-synthetic route. The converted compound underwent further reactions and evaluation for cytotoxic activity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eliska Kohelova, Jana Marikova, Jan Korabecny, Daniela Hulcova, Tomas Kucera, Daniel Jun, Jakub Chlebek, Jaroslav Jenco, Marcela Safratova, Martina Hrabinova, Aneta Ritomska, Milan Malanik, Rozalie Perinova, Katerina Breiterova, Jiri Kunes, Lucie Novakova, Lubomir Opletal, Lucie Cahlikova
Summary: The alkaloids extracted from fresh bulbs of Zephyranthes citrina, including a newly described compound narcieliine, were identified using various spectroscopic techniques and compared with literature data. Narcieliine showed significant inhibitory activity against human AChE/BuChE, with the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier through passive diffusion, as predicted and supported by in vitro and in silico studies.
BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lina Trujillo, Janeth Bedoya, Natalie Cortes, Edison H. H. Osorio, Juan-Carlos Gallego, Hawer Leiva, Dagoberto Castro, Edison Osorio
Summary: In order to discover new molecules for cancer chemotherapy, researchers tested ten alkaloid fractions from Amaryllidaceae species on six cancer cell lines. The study focused on evaluating the effects of these alkaloids on the Bcl-2 protein family and HK2, and identified potentially cytotoxic alkaloids. Combining experimental and theoretical assays allowed for the identification of potentially useful alkaloids for cancer treatment.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ngoc-Thao-Hien Le, Steven De Jonghe, Kristien Erven, Johan Neyts, Christophe Pannecouque, Tom Vermeyen, Wouter A. Herrebout, Luc Pieters, Emmy Tuenter
Summary: Scadoxus multiflorus is traditionally used for respiratory problems and this study investigated its alkaloidal composition. A previously undescribed alkaloid and fourteen known ones were identified. Some of the alkaloids exhibited weak antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the potential of S. multiflorus as a source for anti-SARS-CoV-2 Amaryllidaceae alkaloid scaffolds.
PHYTOCHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)