ABSTRACT
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme that is involved in the breakdown of some neurotransmitters. Its inhibition is one of the treatment strategies employed in the management Alzheimer diseases. Flavonoids isolated from the leaves of Kigelia africana were investigated for their comparative AChE inhibition. The extract of the leaves was subjected to vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) to obtain four fractions using n-hexane (n-hex, 100%), n-hexane/dichloromethane (hex/DCM, 1:1), dichloromethane/ethyl acetate (DCM/EtOAc, 1:1) and ethyl acetate/methanol (EtOAc/MeOH, 1:1). The four fractions were subjected to AChE inhibitory study with DCM/EtOAc (1:1) fraction showing the highest inhibitory activity. Three flavonoids were isolated from this fraction and their structures were elucidated and characterised using 1D- and 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques. Their spectroscopic data compared well with literature. The compounds demonstrated considerable inhibition of AChE activity with luteolin (1), rutin (2) and quercetin (3) that showed IC50 of 945.0, 282.1, 254.8 μg/ml respectively as against the IC50 of 38.93 μg/ml for rivastigmine, a well-known cholinesterase inhibitor. Compound 3 showed 17.89 ± 0.57 and 7.70 ± 0.64 μ/l/mg protein at 200 and 400 μg/ml respectively, for AChE activity as against 10.37 ± 0.99 and 6.24 ± 1.24 μ/l/mg protein showed by rivastigmine at 200 and 400 μg/ml respectively. This study showed that the constituents responsible for the AChE inhibition in the crude extract as reported by Falode et al., 2017 resided in the DCM/EtOAc (1:1) fraction. The structure-activity relationship of the flavonoids revolves around substitution in position 3 of the compounds.
ABSTRACT
Aims: This study investigated the antisickling and radical scavenging activities of different morphological parts of nine plants, belonging to six families. A bioassay-guided fractionation was carried out on Mitracarpus villosus (Sw.) DC. Cham, which was one of the most active plants. Place and Duration of Study: Drug Research and Production Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Nigeria between May 2013 and June 2016. Methodology: Plant materials were collected from OAU campus and Ile-Ife town, identified and voucher specimen deposited at IFE herbarium, OAU for future reference. In-vitro radical scavenging and antisickling (by haemoglobin polymerization inhibitory test) activities of extracts and isolated compounds were performed using ascorbic acid and vanillic acid as positive controls respectively. Bioassay-guided fractionation was achieved by combination of various chromatographic procedures and bioassay techniques to isolate the active constituents. Structural elucidation of the isolated compounds was by spectroscopic techniques including NMR and MS. Results: Six of the nine plant extracts showed considerable antisickling and antioxidant activities. Extracts of Emilia praetermissa and M. villosus, were however the most active. Extracts or compound which demonstrated strong radical scavenging activity were also found to demonstrate significant antisickling effects. Bioassay-guided fractionation of M. villosus resulted in the isolation of psychorubrin, quercetin and a mixture consisting of stigmasterol and an unidentified terpene. Quercetin was the most active antisickling and radical scavenging compound with percentage inhibition of 96.46±0.3 and 87.99±0.18 respectively. Conclusion: Mitracarpus villosus ranked second best in activity among the tested plants. Antisickling activity of its isolated compounds was found to increase with increase in the antioxidant capability of the compounds. Quercetin was the most active compound while the non-antioxidant terpenoidal mixture had very weak polymerisation inhibitory effect.
ABSTRACT
African animal trypanosomosis (AAT) is a disease of concern with ravaging effects on the health of both animals and livestock in tropical Africa. This study investigates the anti-trypanosomal activities of Anogeissus leiocarpus (ALE) and Vitelleria paradoxa (VPE) stem bark extracts and also determines the toxicological profile of the active plant, with a view to establishing the anti-trypanosomal potential and safety of the plants. Laboratory mice (19 g 26 g) and rats (140 g 165 g) obtained from the Animal house, Faculty of Pharmacy, OAU, Ile-Ife were used for the study. The animals were treated according to the standard set criteria for animal use and care. VPE showed neither trypanocidal nor trypanostatic activities while ALE was found to be trypanostatic at 62.5 and 125 mg/kg body weight. However, the partitioned aqueous fraction of ALE was found to demonstrate comparable anti-trypanocidal effect as Diminal (standard agent). In conclusion, the ethanolic extract of A. leiocarpus possesses antitrypanosomal effect through the relative suppression or delay in parasite establishment in trypanosome-infected mice. The toxicological study of A. leiocarpus stem bark extract revealed that it is relatively safe for use in cattle and other grazing animals.
La tripanosomiasis africana de los animales es una enfermedad de preocupación que causa estragos sobre la salud de los animales y el ganado en África tropical. Este estudio investiga las actividades anti-tripanosomal de Anogeissus leiocarpus (ALE) y Vitelleria paradoxa (VPE) del tallo y extractos de corteza. También determina el perfil toxicológico de la planta activa, con el fin de establecer el potencial anti-tripanosomal y la seguridad de las plantas. Ratones de laboratorio (19 g - 26 g) y ratas (140 g - 165 g) obtenidos del Bioterio de la Facultad de Farmacia de la OUA, se utilizaron para el estudio. Los animales fueron tratados de acuerdo con los criterios estándar establecido para el uso y cuidado de animales. VPE mostró actividades no tripanocidas ni tripanostáticas mientras que en ALE se encontró que era tripanostático a 62,5 y 125 mg/kg de peso corporal. Sin embargo, se encontró que la fracción acuosa de ALE demostró un efecto anti-tripanocida comparable como Diminal (agente estándar). En conclusión, el extracto etanólico de A. leiocarpus posee efecto sobre tripanosomas a través de la supresión relativa o retraso en la creación de parásitos en ratones infectados con tripanosomosis. El estudio toxicológico del extracto de corteza del tallo A. leiocarpus reveló que es relativamente seguro para su uso en el ganado y otros animales de pastoreo.