Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Activity of Extracts from Angolan Medicinal Plants

• Autor(a) principal: Fernandes, Nelson
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Canelo, Laura, Mendonca, Dina, Mendonça, António
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/6612
• topic: Alzheimer's disease; Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; Ellman’s method; TLC bioautographic assay; Angola folk medicine; Medicinal plants

Plants are considered important sources of new chemical entities that can be used in the development of novel therapeutic drugs for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by 38 extracts from 13 medicinal plants used in Angola folk medicine are presented: Adenodolichos huillensis (roots and leaves); Boscia microphylla (leaves); Croton gratissimus (aerial part); Gymnosporia senegalensis (branches); Hymenodictyon floribundum (barks); Parinari capensis (leaves); Peucedano angolense (aerial part); Phragmanthera glaucocarpa (roots); Rhus kirkii (leaves); Solanecio mannii (branches); Solanum incanum (fruit); Tinnea antiscorbutica (aerial part) and Xylopia odoratissima (leaves). TLC bioautographic assay and Ellman’s method were used. The best results for IC50 were obtained with the toluene extract of B. microphylla leaves (0.55 ± 0.01 mg/mL) and the methanol extract of G. senegalensis branches (0.30 ± 0.00 mg/mL). The aqueous extract of the leaves of P. capensis also demonstrated acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in the two methods used. In conclusion, the medicinal plants P. capensis, B. microphylla and G. senegalensis represent promising sources of natural compounds with acetylcholinesterase inhibitory properties.