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Project

Anti-inflammatory iridoids and alkaloids from some widely used and some less explored medicinal plants.

Many acute and chronic diseases are either driven or modulated by inflammation. This project focuses on 3 classes of natural products that hold great promise towards anti-inflammatory targets, i.e. oxindole alkaloids and phenanthridone alkaloids, both acting on the NF-kB pathway; and iridoids targeting COX activity. Because of their potential activity against NF-kB, a series of oxindole alkaloids will be isolated from Uncaria tomentosa and U. rhynchophylla, in order to evaluate their NF-kB inhibitory properties. In addition, also the activity on the same target of phenanthridone alkaloids, a poorly explored class of compounds from the Amaryllidaceae family, will be evaluated. Many iridoid-containing medicinal plants are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil's claw) being a well-known example. Iridoids often occur as glycosides; it has been shown that they have to be hydrolyzed first by beta-glucosidase activity of the microflora in the gastro-intestinal tract, but the structures of the ultimately active compounds are not known. In the present project iridoid glycosides will be isolated from H. procumbens, and several in vitro approaches will be followed to prepare and to characterize the metabolites, which will then be evaluated for inhibition of COX-1/2 activity. Finally, a human pilot study will be carried out to detect and to quantify in blood plasma the metabolites that were active in vitro.
Date:1 Jan 2021 →  Today
Keywords:INFLAMMATION, MEDICINAL PLANTS, NATURAL PRODUCTS
Disciplines:In vitro testing, Small molecules, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Traditional medicine and treatments