Monoamine oxidase inhibition by Rhodiola rosea L. roots

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2009-03, Vol.122 (2), p.397-401
• Main Authors: van Diermen, Daphne, Marston, Andrew, Bravo, Juan, Reist, Marianne, Carrupt, Pierre-Alain, Hostettmann, Kurt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: amine oxidase (flavin-containing); Animals; antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology; bioassays; Biological and medical sciences; chemical constituents of plants; chemical structure; Crassulaceae; Depression; enzyme inhibition; General pharmacology; mass spectrometry; Medical sciences; medicinal plants; medicinal properties; methanol; Monoamine oxidase; Monoamine Oxidase - metabolism; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors - pharmacology; nervous system; nervous system diseases; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; plant extracts; Plant Roots; Rhodiola; Rhodiola rosea; Rhodiola rosea L; roots; rosiridin; Senile dementia; traditional medicine
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.01.007

Rhodiola rosea L. (Crassulaceae) is traditionally used in Eastern Europe and Asia to stimulate the nervous system, enhance physical and mental performance, treat fatigue, psychological stress and depression. In order to investigate the influence of Rhodiola rosea L. roots on mood disorders, three extracts were tested against monoamine oxidases (MAOs A and B) in a microtitre plate bioassay. Methanol and water extracts gave the highest inhibitory activity against MAOs. Twelve compounds were then isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation using chromatographic methods. The structures were determined by 1H, 13C NMR and HR-MS. The methanol and water extracts exhibited respectively inhibitions of 92.5% and 84.3% on MAO A and 81.8% and 88.9% on MAO B, at a concentration of 100 μg/ml. The most active compound (rosiridin) presented an inhibition over 80% on MAO B at a concentration of 10 −5 M (pIC 50 = 5.38 ± 0.05). The present investigation demonstrates that Rhodiola rosea L. roots have potent anti-depressant activity by inhibiting MAO A and may also find application in the control of senile dementia by their inhibition of MAO B.