Plants (Nov 2021)

Bioguided Isolation of Alkaloids and Pharmacological Effects of the Total Alkaloid Fraction from <i>Aspidosperma pyrifolium</i> Mart. (Apocynaceae)

  • Francisca Sabrina Vieira Lins,
  • Vanessa Farias da Silva,
  • Josean Fechine Tavares,
  • Vanda Lúcia dos Santos,
  • Harley da Silva Alves

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112526
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 11
p. 2526

Abstract

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Aspidosperma pyrifolium is used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory disorders. The aim of the study was to perform phytochemical characterization and evaluate the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and acute toxicity effects of the total alkaloid fraction (TAF-Ap) from stem barks. Two monoterpenic indole alkaloids were isolated by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and the structural elucidation was performed using 1D and 2D NMR analysis. As for toxicity, no animals died at 50 mg kg−1 and this concentration presented mild sedation and forced breathing within the first 24 h. The lethal dose capable of killing 50% of the animals (LD50) was estimated to be 160 mg kg−1. In the pharmacological tests, the models used were 1% carrageenan-induced paw edema and peritonitis, 1% formalin-induced nociception and 1% acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing in Swiss mice. The study made it possible to isolate 15-methoxyaspidospermine and 15-methoxypyrifolidine, corroborating the results of pharmacological assays, which showed anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential, especially at 30 mg kg−1 (p < 0.001). Thus, the species was shown to be a promising source of active substances, with special attention paid to its toxicological potential.

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