Extraction of phyllanthusols A and B from Phyllanthus acidus and analysis by capillary electrophoresis

Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels: A review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological properties

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels is not only used for its edible fruits but also used to treat a wide spectrum of diseases such as inflammatory, rheumatism, bronchitis, asthma, respiratory disorder, hepatic diseases and diabetes in India, Asia, the Caribbean region, and Central and South America. This paper aims to discuss the current understanding regarding the traditional uses, phytochemical and pharmacological studies of P. acidus, and their possible research opportunities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All information on P. acidus was collected from various electronic database (ACS, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciFinder, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Springer, Wiley, Taylor and Mendeley) and also from those published materials (Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations and books) by using a combination of various meaningful keywords.

RESULTS

Phytochemical analyses on barks, leaves, roots and fruits of P. acidus identified triterpene, diterpene, sesquiterpene, and glycosides as predominant classes of bioactive substances found in this plant. P. acidus was reported with various pharmacological activities such as in vivo hepatoprotective and hypoglycemic, in vitro anti-oxidant, α-glucosidase inhibitory, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. However, none of these studies are with clinical research. Some of the studies were performed with only a single set of experiments or with a high dose of extract, and thus the validity of the experimental data may be questionable. In addition, most of the studies described were without identifying the effective components. Some of the assays were even without a positive control for comparison which makes results questionable.

CONCLUSION

Although P. acidus has been proven as a valuable medicinal source from its traditional uses. However, the pharmacological experiments conducted were not sufficient to verify its traditional uses. More investigation is required to confirm the traditional claims such as bioassay-guided isolation of bioactive compounds, detailed pharmacological investigations, clinical studies, and its toxicity investigation. Additionally, an experimental design with sufficient data replication, the use of controls and authenticated research materials, and the selection of a rationale dose or concentration for the analysis are keys to providing reproducible experimental data.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Phyllanthus acidus

The essential oil from the leaves of Phyllanthus acidus (Phyllanthaceae) was obtained by hydrodistillation and its composition determined by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-one compounds were identified, representing 92.8 % of the oil. The most abundant components were t -muurolol (20.4 %), α-cadinol (14.6 %), β-cadinene (8.9 %) and α-muurolene (7.5 %).

The Genus Phyllanthus: An Ethnopharmacological, Phytochemical, and Pharmacological Review

The plants of the genus Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae) have been used as traditional medicinal materials for a long time in China, India, Brazil, and the Southeast Asian countries. They can be used for the treatment of digestive disease, jaundice, and renal calculus. This review discusses the ethnopharmacological, phytochemical, and pharmacological studies of Phyllanthus over the past few decades. More than 510 compounds have been isolated, the majority of which are lignins, triterpenoids, flavonoids, and tannins. The researches of their remarkable antiviral, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities have become hot topics. More pharmacological screenings and phytochemical investigations are required to support the traditional uses and develop leading compounds.

Hypotensive activity of an n-butanol extract and their purified compounds from leaves of Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels in rats

We aimed to investigate the effects, identify the active substances and establish the mechanisms involved in the hypotensive activity of an n-butanol extract from leaves of Phyllanthus acidus (PA extract). PA extract caused a decrease in blood pressure of anesthetized rats that was not modified by atropine or propranolol. PA extract caused a persistent dilatation of thoracic aortic rings preconstricted with either phenylephrine or KCl, and these effects were not modified by LNA or removal of the vascular endothelium. For phenylephrine-preconstricted aortic rings, the dilatory activity of the PA extract was not modified by atropine, propranolol or indomethacin. TEA, glybenclamide or ODQ significantly inhibited the dilatory activity of the PA extract on endothelium-denuded aortic rings. Nifedipine or a Ca(2+)-free medium depressed the aortic rings constrictor response to phenylephrine, and that was further augmented by the PA extract. Adenosine, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, hypogallic acid, and kaempferol were isolated from the PA extract. Each caused a decrease in blood pressure and dilatation of the aortic rings. LNA or removal of the endothelium reduced this activity. ODQ and TEA attenuated the vasodilatory activity of adenosine whereas glybenclamide and ODQ attenuated the effect of hypogallic acid. These results suggest that the hypotensive activities of the PA extract is likely the result of the direct action of these five compounds on the blood vessels by stimulating release of nitric oxide from the vascular endothelium, in part through stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase, and opening of K(ATP) and K(Ca) channels in the vascular smooth muscle.

MEKC: An update focusing on practical aspects

This paper reviews recent methodological and instrumental advances in MEKC. Improvements in sensitivity arising from the use of on-line sample concentration (sweeping, stacking, and combination of both protocols) and derivatization (in-capillary reactions and coupling with flow-injection systems) and improvements in resolution obtained by changing the composition of the BGE (e.g., with organic modifiers, ionic liquids, nonionic and zwitterionic surfactants, mixed micelles, and vesicles) or using coated capillaries are discussed in detail. In addition, MS and LIF spectroscopy are examined in relation to their advantages and restrictions as applied to MEKC analysis. Some thoughts on potential future directions are also expressed.

Analysis of Strychnos alkaloids in traditional Chinese medicines with improved sensitivity by sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The application of an on-line sweeping preconcentration method in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) for the determination of Strychnos alkaloids, namely strychnine and brucine, has been investigated in this work. After experimental optimizations, the best separation was achieved in 50 mmol l(-1) H3PO4 (pH 2.0) containing 100 mmol l(-1) SDS and acetonitrile in a ratio of 4:1 (v/v), with an applied voltage of -20 kV at 20 degrees C. The sample matrix consisted of 100 mmol l(-1) H3PO4 (pH 2.0), and sample introduction was performed at 0.5 psi for 270 s, with photodiode array detection at 203 nm. Compared with the conventional MEKC injection method, up to 100-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity was achieved in terms of peak height by using this sweeping injection technique. In the method, the compound berberine was used as the internal standard for the improvement of the experimental reproducibility. The calibration curve was linear over a range of 0.5-15 microg ml(-1) for both strychnine and brucine, with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 and 0.997, respectively. The detection limits (S/N=3:1) for strychnine and brucine were 0.05 and 0.07 microg ml(-1), respectively. The sweeping-MEKC method has been successfully applied to the analysis of strychnine and brucine in Strychnos nux-vomica L. and its Chinese medicinal preparations.

Sensitivity improvement on detection of Coptidis alkaloids by sweeping in capillary electrophoresis

A simple and rapid sweeping method for the online improvement of detection sensitivity of the main alkaloids of Coptidis Rhizoma has been developed in this work. Optimum separation conditions were found as follows: electrophoretic running solution comprising 100 mM phosphoric acid, 15 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 10% (v/v) tetrahydrofurane with pH 1.82; running voltage of -25 kV; sample matrix composed of 50 mM phosphoric acid and sample injection at 1000 mbar for 60 s (sample injection volume ca. 2.75 microl). With this sweeping method, the concentration limits of detection of berberine, coptisine and palmatine were found to be 2.5 ppb (ng/ml), which was about 500 times lower than those from conventional sample injections. Baseline separation was achieved for the main alkaloids within 15 min. After validation, the developed method was applied to determine the quantity of berberine, coptisine and palmatine in a Coptidis Rhizoma sample. The method should be able to be used in identification and quantitative evaluation of the crude drugs requiring only a minor amount of sample.