Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of Ocotea pomaderroides extracts: HPLC-MS/MS characterization and molecular modeling studies

Abstract

The present work describes the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of Ocotea pomaderroides extracts besides the chemical composition of chromatographic fractions. The hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extract soluble fractions showed high Electrophorus electricus acetylcholinesterase (EelAChE) inhibition (92.18, 71.86 and 74.25%, respectively) while the butanolic and aqueous extracts showed moderate to low activities (44.48 and 20.74%, respectively). The high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization multiple-stage mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MSⁿ) analysis led to the identification of the alkaloids and flavonol glycoside derivatives present in these extracts. The binding profile of the alkaloids and their atomic effect on 3D structure of Electrophorus electricus AchE (EelAChE) were assessed with molecular modeling.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Lauraceae
• Ocotea pomaderroides
• anticholinesterase activity
• HPLC-ESI-MSⁿ
• molecular modeling

Acknowledgments

Idem in Funding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Programa de Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia da Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia FAPESB (APP-0029/2016; APP-071/2011; DTE-0017/2015; JCB-0039/2013 and RED-008/2013). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.