322
Views
15
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Short Communications

Lycopodiaceae from Panama: A new source of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

, , , , &
Pages 500-505 | Received 22 Jan 2012, Accepted 24 May 2012, Published online: 02 Jul 2012
 

Abstract

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors have been used for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Eleven whole plants from Panama belonging to the Lycopodiaceae family have been screened for their anticholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant activities by a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) bioautography method. Of these, only Lycopodium clavatum subsp. clavatum showed strong AChE inhibition. Seven plant extracts showed moderate inhibition, two of them, Huperzia cf chamaeleon and Huperzia reflexa, also possessed an antioxidant activity. This is the first report of anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities in these two native plants. Additionally, alkaloid extracts of the Lycopodiaceae plants were also analysed by TLC and LC-MS to identify the well-known AchE inhibitor, huperzine A. Two plants, H. cf chamaeleon and H. reflexa var. minor, showed the presence of huperzine.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants awarded to AIC by International Foundation for Science and Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (IFS grant no. F3766-1) and National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT), Panama (grant no. P-06-0042A). Thanks are also due to the Organisation of American States for the support to Project SEDI/AICD/AE/036/06-09 and to the National Environmental Authority of Panama for granting permission to collect plants in national parks.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.