Additional antiprotozoal constituents from Cuphea pinetorum, a plant used in Mayan traditional medicine to treat diarrhoea.
In addition to kaempferol and quercetin already found in the roots from Cuphea pinetorum, bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extract of the aerial part of this species gave four flavonoid glycosides, quercetin-3-O-alpha-rhamnopyranoside, luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, apigenin-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside and apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, as well as squalen and beta-sitosterol. In vitro antiamoebic and antigiardial activities of isolated compounds indicated that kaempferol is the principal antiprotozoal agent in C. pinetorum. Based on finding this antiprotozoal inhibitor, flavonoids were studied in order to elucidate structure-activity relationships. These data suggest that kaempferol may play an important role in antidiarrhoeal activity of C. pinetorum.
Calzada
Fernando
F
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Farmacología de Productos Naturales, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, IMSS, Av. Cuauhtémoc 330, Col. Doctores, 06725 México D. F., México. fercalber1@hotmail.com
D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D031562:Cuphea / Q000737:chemistry*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004748:Entamoeba histolytica / Q000187:drug effects; D005006:Ethnicity; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D015394:Molecular Structure; D008517:Phytotherapy; D035261:Plant Components, Aerial
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents