Alkaloids and Their Pharmacology Effects fromZanthoxylumGenus

Abstract

Zanthoxylum genus (Rutaceae) comprises about 212 species distributed in warm temperature and subtropical areas in the worldwide. Zanthoxylum species have been used in traditional for the treatment of tooth decay, snakebites, blood circulation problems, stomach problems, inflammation, rheumatic, and parasitic diseases. The chemical investigations of Zanthoxylum have been studied by many scientists over the world. Several classes of compounds have been isolated from this genus such as alkaloids, coumarins, and monoterpenes. Of these, alkaloids are the main components and play an important role in Zanthoxylum species. Alkaloids have been shown the potential promise about biological activities: cytotoxic, antimalarial, leishmanicidal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiviral, and antibacterial activities. This chapter will focus on the structure elucidation and pharmacological activities of alkaloids from Zanthoxylum species. In addition, the absolute configuration of some alkaloids from Zanthoxylum genus will be also discussed.

Synthetic Lethal Activity of Benzophenanthridine Alkaloids From Zanthoxylum coco Against BRCA1-Deficient Cancer Cells

“…One of the key advantages of using natural products instead of synthetic compounds in drug discovery is that natural products are likely to be multi-target compounds. Nitidine is a common alkaloid found in many Zanthoxylum species, and it has been reported to suppress cell proliferation, to stimulate apoptosis, to induce cell cycle arrest, and to retard migration, invasion and metastasis in a variety of malignancies via multiple molecular mechanisms (Cui et al, 2020;Nhiem et al, 2020). In this work, we unveil a potential polypharmacological capacity for nitidine, which might be responsible for its synthetic lethal activity against BRCA1-deficient cells.…”

“…Many biological activities were described in Zanthoxylum spp., such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and in particular cytotoxic activity. Even though several classes of compounds have been isolated from this genus, alkaloids are the components with the most interesting biological properties (Nhiem et al, 2020). Particularly, this genus holds elevated levels of benzophenanthridine alkaloids that not only revealed their potential cytotoxic in vitro but also their capability to inhibit tumor growth in vivo through several mechanisms (Nhiem et al, 2020).…”

“…Even though several classes of compounds have been isolated from this genus, alkaloids are the components with the most interesting biological properties (Nhiem et al, 2020). Particularly, this genus holds elevated levels of benzophenanthridine alkaloids that not only revealed their potential cytotoxic in vitro but also their capability to inhibit tumor growth in vivo through several mechanisms (Nhiem et al, 2020). Furoquinoline alkaloids are also found in Zanthoxylum species, and they show cytotoxic activity as well (Yang et al, 2009;Nhiem et al, 2020).…”

“…Nitidine chloride ( Figure 3A) is a bioactive benzophenanthridine alkaloid found in species of the Zanthoxylum genus, particularly in Zanthoxylum nitidum (Hu et al, 2006;Cai et al, 2007). It was described to have anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and antifungal properties (Nhiem et al, 2020). Interestingly, this metabolite was reported to possess potent antitumor activities by inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis in several types of cancer models (Chen et al, 2012;Liao et al, 2013;Fang et al, 2013;Cui et al, 2020;Nhiem et al, 2020).…”

“…It was described to have anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and antifungal properties (Nhiem et al, 2020). Interestingly, this metabolite was reported to possess potent antitumor activities by inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis in several types of cancer models (Chen et al, 2012;Liao et al, 2013;Fang et al, 2013;Cui et al, 2020;Nhiem et al, 2020). Since oxynitidine is the 6-oxo analogue of nitidine, we decided to test whether nitidine also depicts selective cytotoxicity against BRCA1-deficient cells.…”