Schäfer Lizanne, Cal Monica, Kaiser Marcel, Mäser Pascal, Schmidt Thomas J
University of Münster, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry (IPBP), PharmaCampus Corrensstraße 48, D-48149 Münster, Germany.
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Kreuzstrasse 2, CH-4123 Allschwil, Switzerland.
Molecules. 2025 Feb 27;30(5):1093. doi: 10.3390/molecules30051093.
() and () are protozoan parasites that cause severe diseases, namely, Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) and Malaria. Due to limited treatment options, there is an urgent need for new antiprotozoal drugs. (), a plant belonging to the family Buxaceae, is known as a rich source of aminosteroid alkaloids, and a previous study of our working group already showed that the alkaloid-enriched fraction of aerial parts showed promising activity against protozoan parasites. In the present study, the alkaloid-enriched fraction obtained from a 75% ethanol extract of aerial parts was separated to isolate a chemically diverse array of alkaloids for assessment of their antiprotozoal activity and later structure-activity studies. This work yielded a new megastigmane alkaloid (), 7 new aminosteroids (, , , , , , ), along with 10 known aminosteroids (-, , -) and 2 artifacts (, ) that were formed during the isolation process. The structures were elucidated by UHPLC/+ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS, as well as extensive 1- and 2D-NMR measurements. The extract and its fractions, as well as the isolated compounds, were tested in vitro against and as well as cytotoxicity against mammalian cells (L6 cell line). The activity (IC values) of the isolated alkaloids ranged between 0.11 and 26 µM () and 0.39 and 80 µM (). 3α,4α-diapachysanaximine A () showed the highest activity against (IC = 0.11 µM) with a selectivity index (SI) of 133 and was also quite active against with IC = 0.63 µM (SI = 23). This compound is, therefore, a promising new antiprotozoal target for further investigations.
布氏锥虫和疟原虫是引起严重疾病的原生动物寄生虫,即人类非洲锥虫病(昏睡病)和疟疾。由于治疗选择有限,迫切需要新的抗原生动物药物。黄杨科植物黄杨,是富含氨基甾体生物碱的来源,我们工作组之前的一项研究已经表明,地上部分富含生物碱的馏分对原生动物寄生虫显示出有前景的活性。在本研究中,从地上部分75%乙醇提取物中获得的富含生物碱的馏分被分离,以分离出一系列化学性质多样的生物碱,用于评估它们的抗原生动物活性以及后续的构效关系研究。这项工作产生了一种新的巨大戟烷生物碱(化合物1),7种新的氨基甾体(化合物2 - 8),以及10种已知的氨基甾体(化合物9 - 18)和2种在分离过程中形成的人工产物(化合物19和20)。通过超高效液相色谱/电喷雾串联四极杆飞行时间质谱(UHPLC/+ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS)以及广泛的一维和二维核磁共振测量来阐明结构。提取物及其馏分以及分离出的化合物在体外针对布氏锥虫和疟原虫进行了测试,以及对哺乳动物细胞(L6细胞系)的细胞毒性测试。分离出的生物碱的活性(IC值)在0.11至26μM(针对布氏锥虫)和0.39至80μM(针对疟原虫)之间。3α,4α - 二对叶黄杨胺A(化合物2)对布氏锥虫显示出最高活性(IC = 0.11μM),选择性指数(SI)为133,对疟原虫也相当活跃,IC = 0.63μM(SI = 23)。因此,该化合物是进一步研究的有前景的新抗原生动物靶点。