Advances in chemistry and bioactivity of the genus Erythroxylum

Abstract

Erythroxylum P. Browne is the largest and most representative genus of Erythroxylaceae family. It contains approximately 230 species that are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Some species in this genus, such as E.monogynum and E.coca, have been used as folk medicines in India or South America for a long history. It is well known that Erythroxylum plants are rich in tropane alkaloids, and the representative member cocaine shows remarkable activity in human central nervous system. However, many other types of active compounds have also been found in Erythroxylum along with the broadening and deepening of phytochemical research. To date, a total of 383 compounds from Erythroxylum have been reported, among which only 186 tropane alkaloids have been reviewed in 2010. In this review, we summarized all remained 197 compounds characterized from 53 Erythroxylum species from 1960 to 2021, which include diterpenes, triterpenes, alkaloids, flavonoids, and other derivates, providing a comprehensive overview of phytoconstituents profile of Erythroxylum plants. In addition, the biological activities of representative phytochemicals and crude extracts were also highlighted. Graphical Abstract

Erythroxylum austroguangdongense (Erythroxylaceae), a new species from Guangdong, China

“…and E. novogranatense , are well known for their tropane alkaloids, such as cocaine ( Aynilian et al 1974 ). According to Lv et al (2022) , 383 compounds, including diterpenes, triterpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, and other derivates, have been found in 67 Erythroxylum species. Investigating this new taxon for its phytochemical constituents could lead to the discovery of novel sources of these compounds, as well as possibly new compounds unknown to science.…”

Dereplication of tropane alkaloids from four Erythroxylum species using liquid chromatography coupled with ESI‐MSn and HRESIMS

“…with Erythroxylum species, and many have been attributed to the tropane alkaloids present, such as anticholinergic, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anesthetic, stimulant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. 5,7 Dereplication techniques for compounds present in biological matrices have been helping to overcome one of the biggest challenges in natural products research, which is the isolation of already known compounds. 8 Using these techniques, metabolites are identified in a sample by comparing the spectral information of its chemical structure with that of natural products already described in scientific literature and databases, avoiding the isolation process for undesirable compounds.…”

“…5,6 Currently, a total of 383 compounds have been described in Erythroxylum species, the vast majority being tropane alkaloids, about 197 of these metabolites. 7 Great attention was given to the genus in the 19th century, with the species Erythroxylum coca Lam., due to the presence of cocaine, a tropanic alkaloid that has psychoactive action on the central nervous system and quickly develops dependence.…”

“…Great attention was given to the genus in the 19th century, with the species Erythroxylum coca Lam., due to the presence of cocaine, a tropanic alkaloid that has psychoactive action on the central nervous system and quickly develops dependence. Nowadays several biological activities have been verified in studies with Erythroxylum species, and many have been attributed to the tropane alkaloids present, such as anticholinergic, antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, anesthetic, stimulant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities 5,7 …”

The complete genome sequences of 56 Erythroxylum species

“…Many species of Erythroxylum are utilized in traditional medicine, most conspicuously E. monogynum of India as well as the coca crops -which have been cultivated and used for more than 9,000 years (Dillehay et al 2010;White et al 2020). A recent review by Lv and colleagues (Lv et al 2022) reports our state of knowledge on the natural products and bioactivity of the group. The diversity of tropane alkaloids, diterpenes, triterpenes, flavonoids, and derivatives found in Erythroxylum provide a rich source of bioactive compounds for medicinal applications.…”