Bisbenzylisoquinoline Alkaloids from Nelumbo nucifera

Abstract

From the embryos of the seeds of Nelumbo nucifera, three bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, nelumboferine and nelumborines A and B, were isolated along with four known compounds, neferine, liensinine, isoliensinine and anisic acid. The structures of the new alkaloids were determined mainly by spectroscopic methods.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Activity of Alkaloids from Embryo of Lotus, <i>Nelumbo nucifera</i>

“…1). 10) We also found that neferine decreases locomotor activities in mice. 11,12) These results prompted us to synthesize nelumboferine and to evaluate its pharmacological activity.…”

“…O-Methylneferine was prepared by methylation of neferine with trimethylsilyldizaomethane. 10) Synthesis of Nelumboferine Our synthesis plan is shown in Chart 1. Because nelumboferine is a dimer of benzylisoquinoline, it is synthesized by Ullmann coupling 15,16) of two chiral isoquinoline monomers (R)-5a (top half) and (R)-5b (bottom half).…”

Simultaneous determination of liensinine, isoliensinine and neferine in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and application of the technique to pharmacokinetic studies

“…The identified biologically active substances including liensinine, isoliensinine and neferine ( Fig. 1) are the three major alkaloids isolated from Lotus Plumule (Itoh et al, 2011;Yu et al, 2013). Recently, various studies have indicated that these bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids have beneficial pharmacological effects, e.g.…”

Demethylation of neferine in human liver microsomes and formation of quinone methide metabolites mediated by CYP3A4 accentuates its cytotoxicity

“…Neferine (Fig. 1), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, is a major active component isolated from the green seed embryos [2]. Various studies have indicated that neferine has extensive pharmacological effects, including anti-hypertensive, anti-arrhythmic, sedative, and cholinesterase inhibitory actions [3,4].…”