Anti-malarial Berberine Alkaloids from Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang

Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang (C. turtschaninovii Bess. F. yanhusuo Y.H. Chou et C.C. Hsu) belongs to thePapaveraceae family. It is a perennial herb up to 30 cm tall, is one of the medicinally important species of corydalis, and is well known as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine [1]. C. yanhusuo is used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcer's, cardiac arrhythmia, rheumatism, and dysmenorrheal [2]. Also, it has been used to promote blood circulation, reinforce vital energy, and alleviate pain such as headache, chest pain, hypochondriac pain, abdominal pain, backache, arthralgia or trauma [3]. The genus Corydalis contains approximately 320 species and its tubers are exported to other countries. Seventy species have been used in traditional herbal remedies in China, Japan and Korea. The tuber contains several tertiary and quaternary ammonium alkaloids that form the main bioactive components. Some of the important quaternary ammonium alkaloids include dehydrocorydaline (DHC), palmatine, coptisine, and columbamine. These compounds have displayed various kinds of bioactivity [4–6]. For instance studies show that DHC not only inhibits antibody mediated allergic reactions but also influences cell mediated allergic reactions. One component tetrahydropalmatine (THP) is a very effective monoamine depletory in the brain [7]. This paper outlines the, structural determination of twelve known (1–12) compounds and their biological activity. Of the compounds, (3) and (4), showed IC₅₀: 380, 130 (ng/ml); S. I: 12.5, 36.6 (ng/ml) anti-malarial activity. Acknowledgements: The work was supported by Center of Research Excellence in Natural Products Neuroscience (CORE-NPN) NIH/NCRR grant number P20RR021929. References: [1] Xiao PG, et al. Rhizoma Corydalis. In Modern Chinese Materia Media, 1st ed.; Xiao PG, Li DP, Yang SL, Eds. (2002). Chemical industry Press: Beijing, 1: 440–441. [2] Sagare AP, et al. (2000) Plant Sci. 160(1): 139–147. [3] Leung WC, et al. (2003) Prog. Neuro-psychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 27(5): 775–779. [4] Iwasa K, et al. (1999) Eur. J. Med. Chem. 34(12): 1077–1083. [5] Iwasa K, et al. (1997) Planta Med. 63(3): 196–198. [6] Yokozawa T, et al. (2004) J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 56(4): 547–556. [7] Matsuda H, et al. (1997) Biol. Pharm. Bull. 20(4): 431–434.