Cholinesterase inhibitory and anti-amnesic activity of alkaloids from Corydalis turtschaninovii

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2008-09, Vol.119 (1), p.74-80
• Main Authors: Hung, Tran Manh, Na, MinKyun, Dat, Nguyen Tien, Ngoc, Tran Minh, Youn, UiJoung, Kim, Hong Jin, Min, Byung-Sun, Lee, JongPill, Bae, KiHwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholinesterase; Acetylcholinesterase - drug effects; Acetylcholinesterase - metabolism; Alkaloids - isolation & purification; Alkaloids - pharmacology; Amnesia - drug therapy; Amnesic; Animals; Avoidance Learning - drug effects; Berberine - analogs & derivatives; Berberine - isolation & purification; Berberine - pharmacology; Berberine Alkaloids - isolation & purification; Berberine Alkaloids - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Cortex - metabolism; Cholinesterase Inhibitors - isolation & purification; Cholinesterase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Cognition Disorders - drug therapy; Corydalis - chemistry; Corydalis turtschaninovii; General pharmacology; Korea; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Medical sciences; Medicine, East Asian Traditional; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Oxoglaucidaline; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Tubers; Pseudoberberine; Pseudodehydrocorydaline; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2008.05.041

In the course of screening plants used in Korean folk medicine as memory enhancers, a 70% ethanol extract of tuber from Corydalis turtschaninovii Besser (Papaveraceae) showed significant acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity. Repeated column chromatography led to the isolation of a new aporphine alkaloid, oxoglaucidaline ( 9), and a new protoberberine, pseudodehydrocorydaline ( 13) together with 14 known compounds ( 1– 8, 10– 12, and 14– 16). The chemical structures of isolated compounds were elucidated base on extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 1– 16 were investigated in vitro for their anti-cholinesterase activity using the mice cortex AChE enzyme. In further study, the anti-amnesic activities of pseudoberberine ( 16) in mice on the learning and memory impairments induced by scopolamine (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) were examined. This alkaloid (5.0 mg/kg, p.o.) administration significantly reversed cognitive impairments in mice by passive avoidance test ( P < 0.05). It also reduced escape latencies in training trials and prolonged swimming times in the target quadrant during the probe trial in the water maze task ( P < 0.05). These results indicated that Corydalis turtschaninovii due to its alkaloids have anti-cholinesterase activity and pseudoberberine and other alkaloids have anti-amnesic activities that may be useful for cognitive impairment treatment.