Antiplasmodial activity of alkaloids from Croton linearis leaves

Jesús García Díaz; Emmy Tuenter; Julio Cesar Escalona Arranz; Gabriel Llauradó Maury; Paul Cos; Luc Pieters

doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108254

Antiplasmodial activity of alkaloids from Croton linearis leaves

Exp Parasitol. 2022 May-Jun:236-237:108254. doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108254. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

Authors

Jesús García Díaz¹, Emmy Tuenter², Julio Cesar Escalona Arranz³, Gabriel Llauradó Maury⁴, Paul Cos⁵, Luc Pieters⁶

Affiliations

¹ Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, University of Oriente, Ave. Patricio Lumumba s/n, Reparto Jiménez, Santiago de Cuba, 5, CP 90 500, Cuba. Electronic address: jgadi1990@gmail.com.
² Natural Products & Food Research and Analysis (NatuRA), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: emmy.tuenter@uantwerpen.be.
³ Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, University of Oriente, Ave. Patricio Lumumba s/n, Reparto Jiménez, Santiago de Cuba, 5, CP 90 500, Cuba. Electronic address: jcea1971a@gmail.com.
⁴ Centre of Studies for Industrial Biotechnology, University of Oriente, Ave. Patricio Lumumba s/n, Reparto Jiménez, Santiago de Cuba, 5, CP 90 500, Cuba. Electronic address: gabriel@uo.edu.cu.
⁵ Laboratory for Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: paul.cos@uantwerpen.be.
⁶ Natural Products & Food Research and Analysis (NatuRA), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: luc.pieters@uantwerpen.be.

PMID: 35378134
DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108254

Abstract

Croton linearis is a shrub that grows in Caribbean regions, which is rich in metabolites such as alkaloids. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the antiplasmodial effect of alkaloids from this species. Three isoquinoline alkaloids, i.e. reticuline (1), laudanidine (2) and 8,14-dihydrosalutaridine (3), were isolated from the leaves of C. linearis by flash chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC-DAD-MS. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques. Antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine-resistant strain Plasmodium falciparum K1 and cytotoxicity against MRC-5 cells (human fetal lung fibroblast cells) were assessed in vitro. Reticuline, laudanidine and 8,14-dihydrosalutaridine showed moderate antiplasmodial activity with IC₅₀ values of 46.8 ± 0.6, 17.7 ± 0.6 and 16.0 ± 0.5 μM, respectively, but no cytotoxicity was observed in a concentration up to 64.0 μM. This is the first report on the antiplasmodial activity of laudanidine and 8,14-dihydrosalutaridine.

Keywords: Antiplasmodial activity; Croton linearis; Isoquinoline alkaloids; MRC-5.

MeSH terms

Alkaloids* / chemistry
Alkaloids* / toxicity
Antimalarials* / chemistry
Antimalarials* / toxicity
Croton*
Humans
Plant Extracts / chemistry
Plant Extracts / toxicity
Plant Leaves / chemistry
Plasmodium falciparum

Substances

Alkaloids
Antimalarials
Plant Extracts