title: The monoterpene alkaloid cantleyine from Strychnos trinervis root and its spasmolytic properties.
abstract: Cantleyine, a monoterpene alkaloid isolated from the root bark of Strychnos trinervis, was submitted to a broad spectrum pharmacological screening, in which the principal effect observed was a nonspecific relaxation of isolated smooth muscles. Cantleyine relaxed (IC50 2.1 x 10(-4) M) the guinea-pig trachea, pre-contracted by carbachol and antagonized in a nonspecific manner; carbachol (IC50 2.1 x 10(-4) M) and histamine (IC50 1.4 x 10(-4) M) induced contractions in the guinea-pig ileum; and phenylephrine (IC50 3.8 x 10(-4) M) responses in the rat aorta. Cantleyine antagonized (pD'2, 3.82) cumulative concentration response curves to histamine in the ileum in a noncompetitive, reversible (slope, 4.84) and concentration dependent manner. The tonic contractions induced by histamine and KCl were also inhibited in a concentration-dependent and reversible manner (IC50 7.2 x 10(-5) and 1.8 x 10(-4) M, respectively), suggesting that cantleyine should be acting on voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. This hypothesis was confirmed by the observation that cantleyine inhibited (pD'2, 3.35), in a concentration dependent manner, the CaCl2 induced contraction in depolarizing medium. These results suggest that cantleyine produces nonspecific spasmolytic effects in smooth muscle and that in guinea-pig ileum this effect is, in part, due to the inhibition of Ca+2 influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecnologia Farmaceutica, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006632:Histamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007082:Ileum / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010277:Parasympathomimetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D010276:Parasympatholytics; D010277:Parasympathomimetics; C121552:cantleyine; D006632:Histamine; D002217:Carbachol