Abstract
Amaryllidaceae plants are rich in alkaloids with biological properties. Pancratium trianthum is an Amaryllidaceae species widely used in African folk medicine to treat several diseases such as central nervous system disorders, tumors, and microbial infections, and it is used to heal wounds. The current investigation explored the biological properties of alkaloid extracts from bulbs of P. trianthum collected in the Senegalese flora. Alkaloid extracts were analyzed and identified by chromatography and mass spectrometry. Alkaloid extracts from P. trianthum displayed pleiotropic biological properties. Cytotoxic activity of the extracts was determined on hepatocarcinoma Huh7 cells and on acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells, while agar diffusion and microdilution assays were used to evaluate antibacterial activity. Antiviral activity was measured by infection of extract-treated cells with dengue virus (DENVGFP) and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1GFP) reporter vectors. Cytotoxicity and viral inhibition were the most striking of P. trianthum’s extract activities. Importantly, non-cytotoxic concentrations were highly effective in completely preventing DENVGFP replication and in reducing pseudotyped HIV-1GFP infection levels. Our results show that P. trianthum is a rich source of molecules for the potential discovery of new treatments against various diseases. Herein, we provide scientific evidence to rationalize the traditional uses of P. trianthum for wound treatment as an anti-dermatosis and antiseptic agent.
Highlights
The Amaryllidaceae family encompasses over 1600 species scattered all around the globe and is among the top 20 most considered medicinal plant families [1]
Maximum likelihood analysis showed a monophyletic clade of the Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbcL) sequences from all Pancratium species, including P. trianthum P. illyricum L. rbcL sequences clustered outside this common node, and the outgroup L. lancifolium Thunb. was robustly separated from all Amaryllidacease species
In conclusion, this study led to the detection of eight AAs, six of which were identified by GC-MS, in the alkaloid extract of P. trianthum Herb.’s bulb collected in Senegalese flora
Summary
The Amaryllidaceae family encompasses over 1600 species scattered all around the globe and is among the top 20 most considered medicinal plant families [1]. They are bulbous flowering plants exploited for ornamental purposes. One-third of known Amaryllidaceae species grow in South Africa, and they are commonly used in folk medicine [2,3]. West African Amaryllidaceae species such as Pancratium sp., collected in Senegal for traditional medicine [17], have been scarcely studied [18]. P. trianthum is considered to be toxic in Senegal and Sudan and is restricted to external usage only [5], while it is considered edible in Nigeria and Western Sahara [4,22]
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