In vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity of extracts, fractions and a substance isolated from the amazonian plant tachia grandiflora (Gentianaceae)

Tachia sp. are used as antimalarials in the Amazon Region and in vivo antimalarial activity of a Tachia sp. has been previously reported. Tachia grandiflora Maguire and Weaver is an Amazonian antimalarial plant and herein its cytotoxicity and antimalarial activity were investigated. Spectral analysis of the tetraoxygenated xanthone decussatin and the iridoid aglyone amplexine isolated, respectively, from the chloroform fractions of root methanol and leaf ethanol extracts was performed. In vitro inhibition of the growth of Plasmodium falciparum Welch was evaluated using optical microscopy on blood smears. Crude extracts of leaves and roots were inactive in vitro. However, chloroform fractions of the root and leaf extracts [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 10.5 and 35.8 μg/mL, respectively] and amplexine (IC50 = 7.1 μg/mL) were active in vitro. Extracts and fractions were not toxic to type MRC-5 human fibroblasts (IC50 > 50 μg/mL). Water extracts of the roots of T. grandiflora administered by mouth were the most active extracts in the Peters 4-day suppression test in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. At 500 mg/kg/day, these extracts exhibited 45-59% inhibition five to seven days after infection. T. grandiflora infusions, fractions and isolated substance have potential as antimalarials

Chemical constituents of some Myristicaceae species

O presente trabalho descreve o isolamento e a caracterização estrutural dos constituintes químicos majoritários presentes nos frutos maduros das espécies Virola pavonis (A. CD.) A. C. Sm., Iryanthera juruensis Warburg e Osteophloeum platyspermum (Spruce ex A. DC.) Warburg. Foram isoladas vinte e oito substâncias, sendo catorze lignóides, dois tocotrienóis, dois sesquiterpenos, quatro diterpenos, um derivado do ácido cinâmico e cinco flavonóides. Avaliou-se ainda a composição química e o teor do óleo volátil extraído das folhas e dos pericarpos das espécies supracitadas, o que revelou a predominância de hidrocarbonetos monoterpênicos e monoterpenos oxigenados nas folhas e nos pericarpos, respectivamente, de O. platyspermum, bem como de hidrocarbonetos sesquiterpênicos em ambos os órgãos vegetais de I. juruensis e de sesquiterpenos oxigenados nas folhas de V. pavonis. Como esperado, o óleo essencial dos pericarpos de O. platyspermum apresentou significativa atividade contra Escherichia coli e Candida albicans devido à alta concentração de monoterpenos oxigenados. As substâncias di-hidrocarinatina e di-hidrocarinatidina, ambas isoladas do pericarpo de V. pavonis, inibiram o crescimento in vitro da cepa multiresistente K1 de Plasmodium falciparum (acima de 50 % a 2,5 µg/mL). Enquanto que os lignóides verrucosina e guaiacina, ambos obtidos do arilo de I. juruensis, mostraram boa ação leishmanicida contra as formas promastigotas de Leishmania amazonensis (IC50 = 27 e 45 µg/mL, respectivamente).This work describes the isolation and structural characterization of the major chemical constituents from ripe fruits of Virola pavonis (A. CD.) A. C. Sm., Iryanthera juruensis Warburg and Osteophloeum platyspermum (Spruce ex A. DC.) Warburg. Twenty-eight substances have been isolated and classified as fourteen lignoids, two tocotrienols, two sesquiterpenes, four diterpenes, one cinnamic acid derivative and five flavonoids. Additionally, it was also analyzed the yields and chemical composition of the volatile oils from leaves and pericarps of all target species. This analysis indicated the predominance of oxygenated monoterpenes and monoterpene hydrocarbons respectively in leaves and pericarps of O. platyspermum, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons in both I. juruensis plant tissues and oxygenated sesquiterpenes in V. pavonis leaves. As one might expect, the oil from O. platyspermum pericarps presented significant activity against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans due to the high concentration of oxygenated monoterpene. Dihydrocarinatin and dihydrocarinatidin, both isolated from V. pavonis pericarps, were able to inhibit the growth of the multi-drug resistant K1 strain of Plasmodium falciparum (up 50% at 2,5 µg/mL). While the lignoids verrucosin and guaiacin, both obtained from I. juruensis arils, presented good antileishmanial activity against the promastigotes forms of Leishmania amazonensis (IC50 = 27 and 45 µg/mL, respectively)

Bioactive dihydroxyfuranonaphthoquinones from the bark of Tabebuia incana A.H. Gentry (Bignoniaceae) and HPLC analysis of commercial pau d\u27arco and certified T.incana bark infusions

Tabebuia incana A.H. Gentry (Bignoniaceae) is a tree from the Brazilian Amazon having medicinal uses and is one several Tabebuia spp. known as pau d'arco or palo de arco in this region. Fractionation of the bark ethanolic extract afforded a mixture of 5 and 8-hydroxy-2-(1-hydroxyethyl)naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones (1 and 2, respectively) identified on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR) and mass (MS) spectra, whose in vitro antimalarial and antitumor activity have been shown previously. This is the first study on T. incana bark, and 2 are described in this species for the first time. Also, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of T. incana bark tea revealed the presence of the 1 + 2 mixture peak corresponding to a concentration in the range 10-6-10-5 M. The chromatograms of teas prepared from commercial pau d' arco and T. incana bark were also studied and the presence of the 1 + 2 peak has potential for quality control of commercial plant materials