Structure-activity relationship of natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Aim: Eight coumarin derivatives (1a-h) obtained from natural (-)-mammea A/BB (1) and 13 synthetic coumarins (2-14) had their cytotoxicity and biological activity evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv reference strain and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates. Materials & methods: Anti-M. tuberculosis activity was evaluated by resazurin microtiter assay plate, and the cytotoxicity of natural and synthetic products using J774A.1 macrophages by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide. Results: Compounds 1g, 5, 6, 12 and 14 were more active against M. tuberculosis H37Rv and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates with MIC values ranging from 15.6 to 62.5 µg/ml. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the coumarin derivatives were active against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, becoming potential candidates to be used in the treatment of resistant tuberculosis.

Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity of Calophyllum brasiliense Extracts Obtained by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Conventional Techniques.

The conventional techniques used to extract natural products have many disadvantages, and alternative methods have been used, such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE-CO2). We compared the anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity and cytotoxicity of extracts and major pure compounds were obtained from the leaves of Calophyllum brasiliense by SFE-CO2, maceration and Soxhlet. Anti-M tuberculosis activity was evaluated by resazurin microtiter assay plate and cytotoxicity assay was performed using 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide. The (-) mammea A/BB, (-) mammea B/BB, mammea B/BB cyclo D, ponnalide, mammea A/BA cyclo D, and amentoflavone were identified as the majority compounds. SFE-CO2, especially at 313 K and 10.92 MPa showed better yield for (-) mammea A/BB. Anti-M. tuberculosis activity (62.5 µg/mL) and cytotoxicity (Selectivity Index = 0.320-0.576) were similar for the three extracts. Mammea B/BB cyclo D had a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 125 µg/mL, and ponnalide and mammea A/BA cyclo D had MICs > 250 µg/mL. The pure compounds isolated showed low Selectivity Index (< 0.09). SFE-CO2 may be more promising than conventional methods for the extraction of compound (-) mammea A/BB, which presented the best anti-M. tuberculosis activity in our previous study. This is important for current industrial requirements to obtain extracts from medicinal plants using clean technologies.

Analysis of amide compounds in different parts of Piper ovatum Vahl by high-performance liquid chromatographic.

BACKGROUND: Piper ovatum (Piperaceae) has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammations and as an analgesic. Previous studies have showed important biological activities of the extracts and amides from P. ovatum leaves. OBJECTIVE: In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of the amides in different parts of Piper ovatum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analysis was carried out on a Metasil ODS column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5µm) at room temperature. HPLC conditions were as follows: acetonitrile (A), and water (B), 1.0% acetic acid. The gradient elution used was 0-30 min, 0-60% A; 30-40 min, 60% A. Flow rate used was 1.0mL/min, and detection at 280nm. RESULTS: The validation using piperlonguminine, as the standard, demonstrated that the method shows linearity (linear correlation coefficient = 0.998), precision (relative standard deviation <5%) and accuracy (mean recovery = 103.78%) in the concentration range 31.25 - 500µg/mL. The limit of detection and quantification were 1.21 and 4.03µg/mL, respectively. This method allowed the identification and quantification of piperlonguminine and piperovatine in the hydroethanolic extracts of P. ovatum obtained from the leaves, stems and roots. All the extracts showed the same chromatographic profile. The leaves and roots contained the highest concentrations of piperlonguminine and the stems and leaves showed the most concentrations of piperovatine. CONCLUSION: This HPLC method is suitable for routine quantitative analysis of amides in extracts of Piper ovatum and phytopharmaceuticals containing this herb.