Determination of pseudolycorine in the bulb of lycoris radiata by capillary electrophoresis combined with online electrochemiluminescence using ultrasonic-assisted extraction

Benzoindolizidine Alkaloids Tylophorine and Lycorine and Their Analogues with Antiviral, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anticancer Properties: Promises and Challenges

Ongoing viral research, essential for public health due to evolving viruses, gains significance owing to emerging viral infections such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Marine and plant alkaloids show promise as novel potential pharmacological strategies. In this narrative review, we elucidated the potential of tylophorine and lycorine, two naturally occurring plant-derived alkaloids with a shared benzoindolizidine scaffold, as antiviral agents to be potentially harnessed against respiratory viral infections. Possible structure-activity relationships have also been highlighted. The substances and their derivatives were found to be endowed with powerful and broad-spectrum antiviral properties; moreover, they were able to counteract inflammation, which often underpins the complications of viral diseases. At last, their anticancer properties hold promise not only for advancing cancer research but also for mitigating the oncogenic effects of viruses. This evidence suggests that tylophorine and lycorine could effectively counteract the pathogenesis of respiratory viral disease and its harmful effects. Although common issues about the pharmacologic development of natural substances remain to be addressed, the collected evidence highlights a possible interest in tylophorine and lycorine as antiviral and/or adjuvant strategies and encourages future more in-depth pre-clinical and clinical investigations to overcome their drawbacks and harness their power for therapeutic purposes.

Alkaloid Profiling, Anti-Enzymatic and Antiproliferative Activity of The Endemic Chilean Amaryllidaceae Phycella cyrtanthoides

This research aims to identify the alkaloid profile and to evaluate the enzyme inhibitory potential and antiproliferative effects of the Amaryllidaceae plant Phycella cyrtanthoides. The alkaloid extracts from bulbs and leaves were analyzed using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS) analysis. A total of 70 alkaloids were detected in the P. cyrtanthoides’ extracts. The enzyme inhibition potential against cholinesterases (AChE: acetylcholinesterase, and BChE butyrylcholinesterase) and tyrosinase were studied. Bulbs displayed the best IC₅₀ values against AChE (4.29 ± 0.03 µg/mL) and BChE (18.32 ± 0.03 µg/mL). These results were consistent with docking experiments with selected major compounds in the active sites of enzymes, while no activity was observed against tyrosinase enzyme. Antiproliferative effects were investigated against human cervical (HeLa), lung (A549, SW1573), colon (WiDr), and breast (HBL-100, T-47D) tumor cell lines. Bulbs and leaves were active in all cell lines (GI₅₀ < 2.5 µg/mL). These findings suggest that the endemic Chilean plant P. cyrtanthoides contains diverse types of bioactive alkaloids with antiproliferative activities and inhibitory effects with potential therapeutic applications for neurodegenerative diseases

Chemistry and Biological Activity of Alkaloids from the Genus Lycoris (Amaryllidaceae)

Lycoris Herbert, family Amaryllidaceae, is a small genus of about 20 species that are native to the warm temperate woodlands of eastern Asia, as in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Himalayas. For many years, species of Lycoris have been subjected to extensive phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, resulting in either the isolation or identification of more than 110 Amaryllidaceae alkaloids belonging to different structural types. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are frequently studied for their interesting biological properties, including antiviral, antibacterial, antitumor, antifungal, antimalarial, analgesic, cytotoxic, and cholinesterase inhibition activities. The present review aims to summarize comprehensively the research that has been reported on the phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Lycoris.

Discovery and characterisation of lycorine-type alkaloids in Lycoris spp. (Amaryllidaceae) using UHPLC-QTOF-MS

INTRODUCTION

Lycorine, one of the most common alkaloids in Lycoris spp., is believed to possess pharmacological activity.

OBJECTIVE

To discover and identify lycorine-type alkaloids in the crude extracts of bulbs from six Lycoris spp. by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) detection.

METHODOLOGY

A qualitative analytical method with a data mining strategy was utilised. Based on the fragmentation patterns of standards investigated in positive tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) mode, the fragmentation rules of lycorine-type alkaloids were summarised. These types of alkaloids were additionally classified as different subtypes based on structural features and MS/MS fragmentation patterns, and the diagnostic ions for characterisation of different subtypes of alkaloids were designated.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven lycorine type alkaloids, including 16 previously undescribed compounds, were efficiently screened out and tentatively identified from the crude extracts of six Lycoris spp. Lycoris sprengri may be a preferable species for studying or extracting lycorine-type alkaloids because of elevated relative concentrations and highest diversity of alkaloids.

CONCLUSION

The UHPLC-QTOF-MS and MS/MS data-mining strategy proved useful for the detection and tentative identification of lycorine-type alkaloids in bulbs of Lycoris spp. and could be extended to other Amaryllidaceae genera. The consequent profiling of the lycorine-type alkaloids will be useful in the quality control of raw materials of Lycoris species and the exploration of superior species.

Short Total Synthesis of (±)-γ-Lycorane by a Sequential Intramolecular Acylal Cyclisation (IAC) and Intramolecular Heck Addition Reaction

An intramolecular acylal cyclisation (IAC) approach to the synthesis of a range of bicyclic heterocycles is reported. As an example of the utility of the IAC reaction, the methodology was applied in a protecting-group-free five-step total synthesis of (±)-γ-lycorane, incorporating a new intramolecular Heck addition reaction to generate the pentacyclic core structure of the natural product in good yield.

Simultaneous determination of chlortetracycline, ampicillin and sarafloxacin in milk using capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

A fast, inexpensive and sensitive approach for the simultaneous determination of chlortetracycline, ampicilline and sarafloxacin in milk was developed using capillary electrophoresis coupled with an electrochemiluminescence detector. Under the optimal detection conditions, the linear ranges for chlortetracyline, ampicilline and sarafloxacin were 0.030-5.0, 0.050-5.0 and 0.0040-2.0 μg ml^-1, respectively. The correlation coefficients of chlortetracycline, ampicilline and sarafloxacin were determined as 0.9997, 0.9952 and 0.9978, respectively. Detection limits (S/N = 3) of chlortetracycline, ampicilline and sarafloxacin were found as 0.017, 0.018 and 0.0013 μg ml^-1, respectively. This method was successfully applied for the determination of chlortetracycline, ampicilline and sarafloxacin in milk. The recoveries were between 95.3% and 100%. The relative standard deviations of the detection limit and recovery were less than 2.6% and 3.2%, respectively.

Applications of capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection in clinical, environmental and food analysis. A review

This paper reviews the latest developments and analytical applications of chemiluminescence detection coupled to capillary electrophoresis (CE-CL). Different sections considering the most common CL systems have been included, such as the tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) system, the luminol and acridinium derivative reactions, the peroxyoxalate CL or direct oxidations. Improvements in instrumental designs, new strategies for improving both resolution and sensitivity, and applications in different fields such as clinical, pharmaceutical, environmental and food analysis have been included. This review covers the literature from 2010 to 2015.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids from the bulbs of Lycoris radiata with cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities

Four new Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, (+)-1-hydroxy-ungeremine (1), (+)-6β-acetyl-8-hydroxy-9-methoxy-crinamine (2), (+)-2-hydroxy-8-demethyl-homolycorine-α-N-oxide (3), (+)-N-methoxylcarbonyl-2-demethyl-isocorydione (4), together with two known compounds, (+)-6β-acetyl-crinamine (5) and 8-demethyl-homolycorine-α-N-oxide (6) were isolated from the ethanol extract of the bulbs of Lycoris radiata. Structural elucidation of all the compounds were performed by spectral methods such as 1D and 2D ((1)H-(1)H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in addition to high resolution mass spectrometry. All the isolated alkaloids were in vitro evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against eight tumor cell lines (BEN-MEN-1, CCF-STTG1, CHG-5, SHG-44, U251, BGC-823, HepG2 and SK-OV-3) and anti-inflammatory activities against Cox-1 and Cox-2. As a result, alkaloids 1 and 4 exhibited significant cytotoxic activities against all tested tumor cell lines except against BEN-MEN-1. Additionally, alkaloids 1 and 4 possessed selective inhibition of Cox-2 comparable with the standard drug NS-398 (>90%).

Determination of gibberellins in soybean using tertiary amine labeling and capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrochemiluminescence detection

A novel sensitive method based on tertiary amine labeling for the analysis of gibberellins (GAs) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection was proposed. GA3 was tagged with 2-(2-aminoethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidine (AEMP) using N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) and 3,4-dihydro-3-hydroxy-4-oxo-1,2,3-benzotriazine (HOOBt) as coupling agents in acetonitrile to produce GA3-AEMP-derivative. The GA3-AEMP-derivative was injected into CE by electrokinetic injection and detected by Ru(bpy)3(2+)-based ECL. The parameters affecting derivatization, detection and separation such as concentration of reactants, detection potential, pH and concentration of separation buffer, were investigated in detail. Under optimum conditions, the linear concentration range for GA3 was from 2.0×10(-7) to 1.28×10(-4)M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The detection limit was 8×10(-8)M (S/N=3). The relative standard deviations of migration time, peak intensity and peak area for nine continuous injections of 2.0×10(-5)M GA3-AEMP-derivative were 1.0%, 2.1% and 4.2%, respectively. The developed approach was successfully applied to the determination of total GAs in the stem, leaf and seed of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) with recoveries in the range from 89.6% to 99.3%.

Nonaqueous CE ESI-IT-MS analysis of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids

The Amaryllidaceae are widely distributed medical plants. Lycorine, lycoramine, lycoremine, and lycobetaine are the major active alkaloids in Amaryllidaceae plants. A nonaqueous CE ESI-IT-MS method for separation, identification, and quantification of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids has been developed. The MS(1-3) behavior has been studied and the fragmentation pathways of main fragment ions have been proposed. The effects of several factors such as composition and concentration of buffer, applied voltage, composition, and flow rate of the sheath liquid, nebulizing gas pressure, flow rate, and temperature of drying gas were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the linear concentration range of these compounds was wide with the correlation coefficient (R(2) ) >0.99. RSDs of migration time and peak areas were <10%. The LODs were <240 ng/mL. The proposed method can be successfully applied to the determination of the related alkaloids in the Lycoris radiata roots.

Cytotoxic and antimalarial amaryllidaceae alkaloids from the bulbs of Lycoris radiata

Phytochemical investigation of the 80% ethanol extract of the bulbs of Lycoris radiata resulted in the isolation of five new Amaryllidaceae alkaloids: (+)-5,6-dehydrolycorine (1), (+)-3α,6β-diacetyl-bulbispermine (2), (+)-3α-hydroxy-6β-acetyl-bulbispermine (3), (+)-8,9-methylenedioxylhomolycorine-N-oxide (5), and 5,6-dihydro-5-methyl-2-hydroxyphenanthridine (7), together with two known compounds, (+)-3α-methoxy-6β-acetylbulbispermine (4) and (+)-homolycorine- N-oxide (6). Structural elucidation of all the compounds were performed by spectral methods such as 1D and 2D (¹H-¹H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in addition to high resolution mass spectrometry. Alkaloid 1 showed potent cytotoxicity against astrocytoma and glioma cell lines (CCF-STTG1, CHG-5, SHG-44, and U251), as well as HL-60, SMMC-7721, and W480 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 9.4–11.6 μM. Additonally, compound 1 exhibited antimalarial activity with IC₅₀ values of 2.3 μM for D-6 strain and 1.9 μM for W-2 strain of Plasmodium falciparum.

[Simultaneous determination of chlorpromazine and promethazine and their main metabolites by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence]

Based on the phenomenon that each of chlorpromazine (CPZ), promethazine (PMZ), chlorpromazine sulfoxide (CPZSO) and promethazine sulfoxide (PMZSO) could enhance the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) intensity of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium, a novel and sensitive method was proposed for the simultaneous determination of CPZ, PMZ and their main metabolites using capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with ECL detection. The influences of several experimental parameters were explored. The optimum experimental conditions were as follows: detection potential of 1. 20 V (Ag/AgCl), 40 mmol/L of phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.5) containing 5 mmol/L tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium in ECL detection cell, running buffer solution of 18 mmol/L (pH 4.8), sample injection of 8 s at 11 kV, and separation voltage of 13.5 kV. The detection limits (3sigma) of this method were 8.3 x 10(-7) g/L for CPZ, 7.2 x 10(-6) g/L for PMZ, 1.9 x 10(-5) g/L for CPZSO and 3.7 x 10(-6) g/L for PMZSO. The linear ranges of ECL intensity versus mass concentration of medicaments were 7. 1 x 10(-6) - 6. 3 x 10(-3) g/L for CPZ, 7.5 x 10(-5) - 4.6 x 10(-3) g/L for PMZ, 9.7 x 10(-5) - 3.6 x 10(-3) g/L for CPZSO and 8.1 x 10(-5) - 7.7 x 10(-3) g/L for PMZSO. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the four target compounds were not more than 3% for ECL intensity and 1% for migration time. This method has the merits of simplicity, speediness, sensitivity, small sample injection, and free from interference. This method was successfully utilized to directly and simultaneously detect CPZ, PMZ, CPZSO and PMZSO in urine samples of pet dogs.