Determination of Selected Isoquinoline Alkaloids from Mahonia aquifolia; Meconopsis cambrica; Corydalis lutea; Dicentra spectabilis; Fumaria officinalis; Macleaya cordata Extracts by HPLC-DAD and Comparison of Their Cytotoxic Activity

Abstract

Alkaloids have protective functions for plants and can play an important role in living organisms. Alkaloids may have a wide range of pharmacological activities. Many of them have cytotoxic activity. Nowadays, cancer has become a serious public health problem. Searching for effective drugs with anticancer activity is one of the most significant challenges of modern scientific research. The aim of this study was the investigation of cytotoxic activity of extracts obtained from Corydalis lutea root and herb, Dicentra spectabilis root and herb, Fumaria officinalis, Macleaya cordata leaves and herb, Mahonia aquifolia leaves and cortex, Meconopsis cambrica root and herb on FaDu, SCC-25, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. The cytotoxic activity of these extracts has not been previously tested for these cell lines. The aim was also to quantify selected alkaloids in the investigated extracts by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The analyses of alkaloid content were performed using HPLC in reversed phase (RP) mode using Polar RP column and mobile phase containing acetonitrile, water and ionic liquid (IL). Cytotoxic effect of the tested plant extracts and respective alkaloid standards were examined using human pharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells (FaDu), human tongue squamous carcinoma cells (SCC-25), human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), human triple-negative breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231). All investigated plant extracts possess cytotoxic activity against tested cancer cell lines: FaDu, SCC-25, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231. The highest cytotoxic activity against FaDu, SCC-25, and MCF-7 cell lines was estimated for Macleaya cordata leaf extract, while the highest cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 cell line was obtained for Macleaya cordata herb extract. Differences in cytotoxic activity were observed for extracts obtained from various parts of investigated plants. In almost all cases the cytotoxic activity of investigated plant extracts, especially at the highest concentration against tested cell lines was significantly higher than the activity of anticancer drug etoposide. Our investigations exhibit that these plant extracts can be recommended for further in vivo experiments to confirm their anticancer activity.

Application of HPLC-DAD for In Vitro Investigation of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition Activity of Selected Isoquinoline Alkaloids from Sanguinaria canadensis Extracts

“…Alkaloid standards were chromatographed on Polar RP 8 column in eluent system containing acetonitrile, water, and 0.04 mL −1 of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in gradient system described in the Section 3. The chromatographic condition was based on the previously published method applied for determination of isoquinoline alkaloids after appropriate modification [35,36]. The Limits of quantification (LOQs) for most investigated alkaloids were determined in previous study and were 0.0457 mg/mL for berberine, 0.0123 mg/mL for chelerythrine, 0.0288 mg/mL for protopine, and 0.0371 mg/mL for sanguinarine [36].…”

Biological Activities of Alkaloids: From Toxicology to Pharmacology

“…This is due to the very high number of alkaloids produced by many different organisms, mostly plants, diffused all over the world. Therefore, the identification, characterization, and quantification of alkaloids present in plant species and their parts is very important and brings interesting data [1,2]. The spectrum of alkaloids' activity is also very wide.…”

Liquid chromatographic separation of alkaloids in herbal medicines: Current status and perspectives

“…The same ion liquid was used to detect isoquinoline alkaloids in extracts from herbs or roots of Chelidonium majus L. and Thalictrum foetidum L. as well as cortex of two Berberis species [50]. Likewise, isoquinoline alkaloids from several plant extracts were analyzed with mixture of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, ACN, and water [51].…”

“…As for polar‐endcapped stationary phase, Synergi Polar RP column was utilized for quantification of isoquinoline alkaloids from herbs or roots of Chelidonium majus L. and Thalictrum foetidum L. along with cortex of Berberis species [50]. Determination of isoquinoline alkaloids from six investigated plant extracts was performed on Synergi Polar RP column as well [51].…”