Isolation, chemical profiling, and standardization of betaine, choline, acetylcholine, and 20-hydroxyecdysone from Atriplex species

Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt., is an evergreen, scurfy shrub endemic to the central and western regions of the North America. Native Americans have been used it in folkloric medicine for controlling pain, ant bites and other ailments. From the EtOH extract of A. canescens leaves three key dietary ingredients, namely betaine (1), choline (2), and 20-hydroxyecdysone (3) were isolated and identified as major chemical markers, along with oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), isovanillic acid (5), and β-sitosterol-D-glucoside (6). Chemical profiling of three major constituents 1 – 3 and acetylcholine (9), using RP-HPLC, in different plant parts of A. canescens, as well as among other species, namely A. fruiticulosa, A. fasciculate, A. semibaccata and A. lentiformis, revealed all four compounds are present in the extracts of different parts of A. canescents, but 20-hydroxyecdysone is not detected in other species of Atriplex. The presence of these dietary and nutritional constituents, particularly in A. canescens, explains the implications of this native US plant.

Acknowledgement: Supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), NIH Grant Number P20GM104932, and COBRE, CORE-NPN, Research Core C.