Bioactive Compounds from Talisia nervosa with PPAR α and γ Activation Activity.

Talisia nervosa Radlk (Sapindaceae), also called Mamon de montaña, is distributed in the forests of the central and Caribbean part of Panama. The pulp of this plant is consumed by Panamanian Choco natives [1]. However, there is not much information available about its secondary metabolites and their biological activities. This plant was selected for bio-guided fractionation based on a screening of a collection of Panamanian plants extracts from the repository of NCNPR against three molecular targets related to inflammation and metabolic disorders: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) isoforms (α and γ), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The EtOH extract of Talisia nervosa stem showed activation of PPARα and γ at 100µg/mL in HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma) cells. Activation of PPARα and γ are related to lowering lipids and blood sugar [2]. The EtOH extract was successively partitioned with hexane, CHCl₃, EtOAc, BuOH to get the non polar and polar fractions. The EtOAc fraction showed strongest activity for PPAR α and γ (6.5 and 7.5 fold) at 100µg/mL. Further bio-guided isolation will be carried out to obtain the active compounds. Acknowledgements: Financial support (Yelkaira Vasquez) by Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (SENACYT) in collaboration with the Instituto para la Formacion de Recursos Humanos (IFARHU) from the Panamanian government is acknowledged. Partial support of this work from The United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Specific Cooperative Agreement No. 58–6408–2-0009 is also acknowledged. Reference: [1] Duke J, (1970) Econ Bot, 24: 344–366. [2] Staels B, Fruchart J, (2005)J Diabetes, 54: 2460–2470.