Determinación de la actividad inhibitoria de la fracción alcaloidal Eucharis formosa sobre acetilcolinesterasa y butirilcolinesterasa.

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to determine the inhibitory activity on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes by the alkaloidal extract of the species Eucharis Formosa, using galantamine as a reference compound, a compound, the one which is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, the alkaloids present in this plant were identified through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Eucharis formosa belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family; it can be located from Panama to Bolivia and in much of the western Amazon basin of Ecuador. The plant material was collected in the Shushufindi canton located in the province of Sucumbíos, in February 2018. From the crude extract obtained by maceration of the dried bulb and crushed in methanol, alkaloid extraction was performed using a protocol based on the change of pH and the use of organic solvents. Through this process, the following alkaloids were identified, 11-hydroxyvittatin / hamayna, codeine, galantamine, hemantamine, incartine, O-methylmaritidine in order of abundance; and finally a compound not identified m/z 288*a;[M=289]*b .In the results of enzymatic inhibition corresponding to the alkaloidal extract of Eucharis formosa, an IC50 = 4,223 ± 0.435 was observed, a result very close to the reference value of galantamine (IC50 = 0.71 ± 0.02), showing high inhibitory activity. In the case of BuChE, the IC50 of the extract of E. Formosa had a value of 129,903 ± 12,636, and in the case of galantamine, it was 16,055 ± 1,335. Due to the remarkable inhibitory activity of the extract studied on AChE, it is of great interest to continue investigating E. formosa for the search for new treatments of Alzheimer's disease, thus it is recommended to carry out subsequent phytochemical, pharmacological, toxicological studies.