Quercetin as the active principle of Hypericum hircinum exerts a selective inhibitory activity against MAO-A: extraction, biological analysis, and computational study.
The methanol extract from Hypericum hircinum leaves exhibited in vitro inhibition of monoamine oxidases (MAO). Bioassay-guided fractionation led to the isolation of quercetin and five compounds identified for the first time from H. hircinum. Quercetin was the only compound with a selective inhibitory activity against MAO-A, with an IC50 value of 0.010 microM. To explain MAO selective inhibition at the molecular level, a computational study was carried out by conformational search and docking techniques using recently determined crystallographic models of both enzymatic isoforms. An in vivo study in mice was carried out using the forced swimming test in order to elucidate the behavioral effects of quercetin.
Chimenti
Franco
F
Dipartimento di Studi di Chimica e Tecnologia delle Sostanze Biologicamente Attive, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Cottiglia
Filippo
F
Bonsignore
Leonardo
L
Casu
Laura
L
Casu
Mariano
M
Floris
Costantino
C
Secci
Daniela
D
Bolasco
Adriana
A
Chimenti
Paola
P
Granese
Arianna
A
Befani
Olivia
O
Turini
Paola
P
Alcaro
Stefano
S
Ortuso
Francesco
F
Trombetta
Giuseppe
G
Loizzo
Alberto
A
Guarino
Irene
I
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020902:Hypericum / Q000737:chemistry*; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D051379:Mice; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D011794:Quercetin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D013550:Swimming
D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D011794:Quercetin