An overview on the chemical and biological aspects of lycorine alkaloid

Abstract

Amaryllidaceae plants are currently appreciated as a plentiful source of unique bioactive alkaloids. Among them, lycorine is one of the major pyrrolophenanthridine alkaloids commonly isolated from different species of this family. Over the past years, lycorine has attracted great research interest owing to its superlative biological potential and pharmacological actions, including antitumor, antiangiogenic, antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-parasite, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, analgesic, anti-inflammatory activities, and inhibition of ascorbic acid synthesis, among many others. Therefore, this review was undertaken to highlight the chemical, chromatographic, spectral, and biological aspects of this promising Amaryllidaceae alkaloid, together with a future perspective for its potential applications in the pharmaceutical field.

Antibacterial and Anticancer Activity and Untargeted Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Crude Bacterial Endophyte Extracts from Crinum macowanii Baker Leaves

“…Crude endophyte extras of Bacillus safensis , Pseudomonas cichorii , and Arthrobacter pascens displayed the presence of lycorine, and this is not surprising as endophytes can metabolize secondary metabolites from the host plant [ 104 ]. Lycorine has been reported to possess antibacterial activity and cytotoxic and antitumor activities [ 95 ]. This would explain the observed antibacterial and/or anticancer activity of the crude endophyte extracts.…”

Effects of Various Preextraction Treatments of Crinum asiaticum Leaf on Its Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Chemical Properties

“…Previous phytochemical studies on C. asiaticum reported that alkaloids, coumarins, glycosides, triterpenes, phenolics, and flavonoids are constituents of C. asiaticum leaf [ 27 , 28 ]. Lycorine is one of the major Crinum alkaloids [ 14 , 28 ]. A previous study reported that ethanolic extract of the leaves exerted in vitro anti-inflammatory activity by the inhibition of nitric oxide production [ 11 ].…”

“…NO, one of the inflammatory mediators important in the inflammation process which have a destructive effect on articular cartilage, helps bring about osteoarthritis which is the most common chronic degenerative disease. Additionally, lycorine has potent immunological, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities [ 14 , 15 ] and has been shown to decrease autophagy in osteoclasts in vivo [ 16 ]. Therefore, lycorine is most likely the responsible active compound in C. asiaticum extract thus supporting the traditional use of C. asiaticum in the mitigation of joint pain.…”

Molecular Identification of Endophytic Bacteria in Leucojum aestivum In Vitro Culture, NMR-Based Metabolomics Study and LC-MS Analysis Leading to Potential Amaryllidaceae Alkaloid Production

“…Galanthamine is used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease [ 1 ]. Lycorine possesses the ability to inhibit in vitro replication of the poliomyelitis virus, herpes simplex virus, Bunyamwera virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. This alkaloid also exhibits antimalarial [ 6 ] and cytotoxic activities, which have led to clinical trials to determine the use of lycorine in the treatment of cancer [ 7 ].…”