Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology
Author: Marina Rademacher | email: marina.radem@gmail.com
Marina Rademacher 1°, Carolina Marcucci 1°, Valentina Pastore 1°, Fabiola Kamecki 1°, Leonardo Martín Anconatani 2°, Ignacio Agudelo 2°, Rafael Ricco 2°, Natalia Colettis 1°, Mariel Marder 1°
1° Universidad de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de lnvestigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas Prof. Dr. Alejandro C. Paladini (IQUIFIB). Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2° Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Farmacología. Cátedra de Farmacobotánica. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Heteropterys glabra (“tilo del campo”) is a shrub native to Argentina that grows mainly in the Chaco Húmedo region. Its fruits are collected from the wild or cultivated and traditionally consumed as an infusion, showing sedative and/or anxiolytic properties. Herbal medicine is widely used, and it is a source of novel compounds with diverse central nervous system activities. We evaluated potential anti neurodegenerative effects of this plant. A screening of plant extracts revealed that the hydroalcoholic (70%) extract (HAE) of Heteropterys glabra inhibited hMAO-B (IC50 (95%CI): 1,48 (0.47 to 4.62) mg/mL) and hMAO-A (1 mg/mL: (72,5 ± 0,5) % inhibition) enzymes. Additionally, it was unable to inhibit hBChE or muAChE. The phytochemical composition of the aqueous (AE) and HAE extracts of this plant was determined: total phenolic content (AE: 129,6 and HAE: 136,2 mg gallic acid eq./g dried extract), flavonoid content (AE: 72,3 and HAE: 59,0 mg rutin eq./g dried extract) and hydroxycinnamic acid content (AE: 112,2 and HAE: 75,9 mg chlorogenic acid eq./g dried extract). Finally, its antioxidant properties were evaluated (DPPH and ABTS radicals assays). The results indicate that the HAE has a better capacity to scavenge radicals than the AE, that could be associated with its higher total phenolic content. Our study is a contribution for the discovery of unknown native herbal products with CNS effects to develop novel therapeutical agents to treat neurodegenerative diseases.