A review on the chemical and biological properties of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid, narciprimine (1968-2020)

Abstract

Amaryllidaceae occupies a prominent position among the most important alkaloid-rich plant families in the globe. Plants of this family show an exceptional ability to produce a myriad of structurally diverse alkaloids with noteworthy pharmacological and therapeutic potential. Of these alkaloids, narciprimine is a rare weakly basic phenanthridone alkaloid that was identified from some species belonging to the genera Cyrtanthus, Galanthus, Lycoris, Narcissus, and Zephyranthes. This alkaloid has attracted a lot of scientific attention in recent years thanks to its biological properties, including cytotoxic, anticancer, and anticholinesterase activities. Hence, this review affords a comprehensive focus on the chemical, spectral, and biological attributes of narciprimine; providing a future perspective for possible research on this valued Amaryllidaceae alkaloid.

Studies on the Nonalkaloidal Secondary Metabolites of Hippeastrum vittatum (L’Her.) Herb. Bulbs

“…Chemotaxonomic Significance of the Isolated Phytocompounds. Extensive literature review pertaining to the characterized metabolites 1−16 indicated that only lycorine (1) was previously isolated from H. vittatum bulbs, 6,26 whereas the phenanthridone derivative, narciprimine (15), which was described from a range of Amaryllidaceae plants, e.g., Cyrtanthus, Galanthus, Lycoris, Narcissus, and Zephyranthes species, 12 is first obtained herein from plants of the genus Hippeastrum. Likewise, among different members of the Amaryllidaceae, 3′-methyl isoliquiritigenin (2) was only reported from Crinum augustum Rox.…”

“…In this context, the overview of phytochemical data on H. vittatum has revealed its ability to accumulate a variety of chemical metabolites, of which alkaloids represent the major class identified so far, e.g., belladine-, crinine-, galanthamine-, haemanthamine-, homolycorine-, lycorine-, narciclasine-, and tazettine-types, whereas the nonalkaloidal principles produced by this valued species have remarkably received much lesser attention. − Therefore, as part of our research interest in different plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, ,− this work investigates the nonalkaloidal metabolites, the phenolic and flavonoidal contents, and the antioxidant potential of H. vittatum bulbs.…”

“…6 In this context, the overview of phytochemical data on H. vittatum has revealed its ability to accumulate a variety of chemical metabolites, of which alkaloids represent the major class identified so far, e.g., belladine-, crinine-, galanthamine-, haemanthamine-, homolycorine-, lycorine-, narciclasine-, and tazettine-types, 6 whereas the nonalkaloidal principles produced by this valued species have remarkably received much lesser attention. 7 − 9 Therefore, as part of our research interest in different plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, 4 , 10 − 12 this work investigates the nonalkaloidal metabolites, the phenolic and flavonoidal contents, and the antioxidant potential of H. vittatum bulbs. Additionally, the potential ability of the characterized phytoconstituents 1–16 to interact with different target proteins of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), namely, the main protease (M pro ), the papain-like protease (PLpro), and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), was explored using the in silico molecular docking approach in order to widen the current search for naturally derived anti-Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) agents.…”