title: GC/MS analysis of three Amaryllidaceae species and their cholinesterase activity.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD), characterized by the death of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, is the most common subtype of dementia. Despite the exponential growth in the number of AD patients, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are currently used to treat AD. Plants of the Amaryllidaceae family are known to synthesize a particular type of bioactive compounds, named Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, which have shown AChE inhibitory activity. Alkaloid extracts of three species of Amaryllidaceae were studied with respect to their acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity and alkaloid patterns. Eleven alkaloids were identified by GC/MS. Significant cholinesterase inhibitory activity was demonstrated by the alkaloid extract of N. undulata (IC50,(HuAChE) = 14.3 +/- 1.2 microg/mL; IC50,(HuBuChE) = 33.9 +/- 1.9 microg/mL).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Botany and Ecology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Heyrovského 1203, 500 05 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. cahlikova@faf.cuni.cz
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cahlíková
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Benesová
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Macákova
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Urbanová
authors.forename: Lubomír
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Opletal
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D019668:Liliaceae / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D002802:Cholinesterases