Magnoflorine from Berberis vulgaris Roots—Impact on Hippocampal Neurons in Mice after Short-Term Exposure

Abstract

In search of novel potential drug candidates that could be used as treatments or prophylactics for memory impairment, an aporphine alkaloid magnoflorine (MAG) isolated from the root of Berberis vulgaris was proven to exhibit beneficial anti-amnestic properties. Its effects on immunoreactivity to parvalbumin in the mouse hippocampus were assessed together with a study on its safety and concentration in the brain and plasma. For this purpose, four experimental groups were created: the MAG10 group—treated with 10 mg MAG/kg b.w. i.p., the MAG20 group—treated with 20 mg MAG/kg b.w. i.p., the MAG50 group—treated with 50 mg MAG/kg b.w. i.p., and a control group—injected with saline i.p. at a volume corresponding to their weight. Our results indicated that the hippocampal fields CA1–CA3 were characterized by an elevated number of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons (PV-IR) and nerve fibers in mice at the doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg b.w. (i.p.). No significant changes to the levels of IL-1β, IL-6 or TNF-α were observed for the above two doses; however, the administration of 50 mg/kg b.w. i.p. caused a statistically significant elevation of IL-6, IL-1beta plasma levels and an insignificant raise in the TNF-alpha value. The HPLC–MS analysis showed that the alkaloid’s content in the brain structures in the group treated with 50 mg/kg b.w. did not increase proportionally with the administered dose. The obtained results show that MAG is able to influence the immunoreactivity to PV-IR in hippocampal neurons and might act as a neuroprotective compound.

Optimized Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) Protocol for Isolation of Urease Inhibitors: Magnoflorine and Berberine from Berberis vulgaris Extracts

“…Urease enzyme was prepared by disturbing H. pylori cells by sonication, followed by centrifugation at 12,000× g at 4 • C for 10 min. The enzyme reaction was activated in 96 well plates by mixing the appropriate volume of 2% urea, sodium phosphate buffer solution (100 µL), different concentrations (2000-3.9 µg/mL) of propolis extract, and the reaction mixture was incubated for 15 min at 37 • C, then the concentration of ammonia was determined using the Berthelot method with phenol-hypochlorite reaction [25], which produces a colorimetric product measured at 630 nm. The pH level of the reaction was set at 7.3.…”

“…The majority of the described trials use hydrodynamic instruments, like high-speed countercurrent chromatographs (HSCCC), that are known to be efficient for analytical scale separations. In 2020, Correa et al carried out successful purification trials on three lycorine-type alkaloids from Rhodolirium speciosum using this technique in the methyl-tert-butyl ether/acetonitrile/water (4:1:5, v/v/v) system in descending mode [25]. In a study conducted by Sun et al, the isolation of alkaloids from Lycoris cordata was achieved using the pH-zone-refining mode of operation on a conventional HSCCC apparatus using a biphasic solvent system consisting of petroleum-ether-ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water (1:9.5:0.5:10 v/v/v/v) with the addition of 10 mM triethylamine and 10 mM hydrochloric acid.…”

Heterogeneous Cellular Response of Primary and Metastatic Human Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines to Magnoflorine and Its Additive Interaction with Docetaxel

“…MGN with a purity of 96.2% was isolated in the previously published protocol [12] from the dried ground root of Berberis vulgaris produced by Proherbis company (Debowiec, Poland), which was purchased in Lublin (Poland) in February 2023 in a herbal shop. The methanolic extract from the plant material was prepared as described before using the accelerated solvent extractor (ASE100, Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) at 80 • C in 3 static cycles that were 5 min each, with purge time settings of 30 s and a flush volume of 30%.…”

“…Those with high MGN content were joined, evaporated to dryness and used for the bioactivity assay. The mass chromatograms showing the purity of the isolate, together with its fragmentation pattern and CPC chromatogram, are presented in the Supplementary File (Figures S1-S3) and were obtained under the previously reported conditions [12].…”

“…Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) is a shrub of particular interest due to its proven nutritional value and medicinal benefits [11]. Phytochemical analysis of Berberis vulgaris roots revealed the presence of a secondary metabolite, namely magnoflorine (MGN), in its extracts [12]. MGN, also named thalictrine and escholine, is a quaternary benzylisoquinoline alkaloid that is characterized by the presence of an aporphine scaffolding, and it is found in numerous plant species belonging to the Berberidaceae, Magnoliaceae, Menispermaceae, Papaveraceae, or Ranunculaceae families [13].…”