Isolation, in vitro evaluation and molecular docking of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from South African Amaryllidaceae.

Isolation, in vitro evaluation and molecular docking of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from South African Amaryllidaceae. Fitoterapia. 2020 May 29;:104650 Authors: Sibanyoni MN, Chaudhary SK, Chen W, Adhami HR, Combrinck S, Maharaj V, Schuster D, Viljoen A Abstract Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is considered a promising strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia. Members of the Amaryllidaceae family are well known for their pharmacologically active alkaloids, including galanthamine, which is used to treat AD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of South African Amaryllidaceae species to inhibit AChE, to isolate the active compounds, and probe their ability to bind the enzyme using molecular docking. The AChE inhibitory activity of extracts of 42 samples, representing 14 genera and 28 species, as well as isolated compounds, were evaluated in vitro using a qualitative thin layer chromatography (TLC) bio-autography assay and Ellman's method in a quantitative 96-well microplate assay. Targeted isolation of compounds was achieved with the aid of preparative-high perfomance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The structures of the isolates were elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectrocopy, and were docked into the active site of AChE to rationalise their biological activities. The most active species were found to be Amaryllis belladonna L (IC50 14.3 ± 2.6 μg/mL)...
Source: Fitoterapia - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Fitoterapia Source Type: research