Elsevier

Fitoterapia

Volume 75, Issues 7–8, December 2004, Pages 764-767
Fitoterapia

Short report
A bioactive biflavonoid from Campnosperma panamense

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2004.09.015Get rights and content

Abstract

Lanaroflavone (1), a biflavonoid isolated from the methanol extract of the aerial part of Campnosperma panamense by bioguided fractionation, has been assessed for in vitro antiprotozoal activity. Lanaroflavone showed both antimalarial and leishmanicidal activities, but was inactive against Chagas disease vector, Trypanosoma cruzi.

Section snippets

Plant

Campnosperma panamense Standl. (Anacardiaceae) leaves collected in May 2000 from Department del Valle, Colombia and identified by Dr. Robert T. Gonzalez, University del Valle. A voucher specimen (BW067) has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Universidad del Valle, Cali (CUVC).

Uses in traditional medicine

No medicinal use has been reported for this species, but several Anacardiaceae are used traditionally as antiplasmodial in South America [1]. The tree is used as a commercial source of timber on the Pacific coast of Colombia [2]. The antimalarial activity of leaf extract has been previously shown [3].

Previously isolated classes of constituents

No phytochemical study has yet been reported for C. panamense. Lanaroflavone has been previously reported from Lanaria lanata and Ouratea semiserrata [4], [5].

Tested materials

Lanaroflavone 1 (4‴,5,5ʺ,7,7ʺ-pentahydroxy-4′,8ʺ-biflavonyl ether) (6.9 mg from 140 g of dry plant material).

Studied activity

Antiplasmodial activity was evaluated following the microculture radioisotope technique [6] modified by Ridley [7], while leishmanicidal activity was evaluated using the axenic amastigote assay [8], [9]. Antitrypanosomial activity was evaluated by colorimetric reaction (β-galactosidase/CPRG-Nonidet) using trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi Tulahuen strain C2C4 containing the β-galactosidase (Lac Z) gene [10].

Results

Reported in Table 1.

Conclusion

Lanaroflavone exhibited good antiplasmodial activity in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum K1 chloroquine-resistant strain and moderate leishmanicidal activity against L. donovani amastigotes, but did not show antitrypanosomial activity.

Aknowledgments

The authors want to thank Vanessa Douville for technical assistance and the ECOS/ICFES/COLCIENCIAS/ICETEX program for financial support.

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