A semi-targeted NMR-based chemical profiling of retail samples of Mexican gordolobo.

Mexican gordolobo (MG) is one of the most important medicinal plants in Mexico and an important source of specialized metabolites with biological activities. The species employed in Mexican traditional medicine identified with this name are very different and difficult to identify according to existent criteria. In order to contribute to the identification of these species, a semi-targeted 1H NMR-based chemometric method was developed to characterize the chemical profiling of retail samples of MG. Thus, 17 retail samples of MG flowers were successively extracted with a gradient of water:chloroform (1:4, 1:2 and 0:1) in an ultrasonic bath for 15 min each. The organic phase of the three extracts was pooled, evaporated and analyzed by 1H NMR. The NMR data were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis, revealing that flavones gnaphaliin A (1), gnaphaliin B (2), araneol (3), 3,5,7-Tri-O-methylgalangin (4) and diterpenes sclareol (5) and kaur-16-en-18-oic acid (6) can be effectively used as chemotaxonomical markers for the correct identification of the Gnaphalium spp that compose MG. The aforementioned chemotaxonomic markers may be useful in establishing therapeutic criteria.

The potential role of sesquiterpene lactones isolated from medicinal plants in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome - A review.

Metabolic syndrome comprises a cluster of metabolic disorders related to the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In latter years, plant secondary metabolites have become of special interest because of their potential role in preventing and managing metabolic syndrome. Sesquiterpene lactones constitute a large and diverse group of biologically active compounds widely distributed in several medicinal plants used for the treatment of metabolic disorders. The structural diversity and the broad spectrum of biological activities of these compounds drew significant interests in the pharmacological applications. This review describes selected sesquiterpene lactones that have been experimentally validated for their biological activities related to risk factors of metabolic syndrome, together with their mechanisms of action. The potential beneficial effects of sesquiterpene lactones discussed in this review demonstrate that these substances represent remarkable compounds with a diversity of molecular structure and high biological activity, providing new insights into the possible role in metabolic syndrome management.

Anti-amoebic Activity of Leaf Extracts and Aporphine Alkaloids Obtained from Annona purpurea.

Annona purpurea has been traditionally used by indigenous and socioeconomically disadvantaged people to treat infectious and parasitic diseases, including amoebiasis. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of a crude methanolic extract, an alkaloid extract, and aporphine alkaloids from leaves of A. purpurea on the viability of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoite cultures and to identify the mechanism of action. Different concentrations of the extracts and alkaloids purpureine (1: ), 3-hydroxyglaucine (2: ), norpurpureine (3: ) glaziovine (4: ), and oxopurpureine (5: ) were added to the cultures, and dead parasites were counted after 24 h using a tetrazolium dye reduction assay and analyzed by flow cytometry. The crude extract did not affect the viability of amoebae, but the alkaloid extract and the derived alkaloid glaziovine (4: ) had important anti-amoebic activity with an IC50 of 33.5 µM compared to that shown by metronidazole (6.8 µM). The treatments induced significant morphological changes in the trophozoites, and most parasites killed by the alkaloid extract were positive for Annexin V, suggesting that apoptosis was the main mechanism of action. In contrast, glaziovine (4: ) induced less apoptosis with more amoebic lysis. This study supports the idea that aporphine alkaloids from A. purpurea, mainly (+)-(R)-glaziovine (4: ), could contribute to the development of new formulations for the treatment of amoebiasis. In addition, X-ray diffraction structural analysis and complete 1H and 13C NMR assignments of (+)-(R)-glaziovine (4: ) were performed and reported for the first time.