Abstract
A new alkaloid, geissospermiculatine was characterized in Geissospermum reticulatum A. H. Gentry bark (Apocynaceae). Here, following a simplified isolation protocol, the structure of the alkaloid was elucidated through GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, 1D, and 2D NMR (COSY, ROESY, HSQC, HMBC, 1H-15N HMBC). Cytotoxic properties were evaluated in vitro on malignant THP-1 cells, and the results demonstrated that the cytotoxicity of the alkaloid (30 μg/mL) was comparable with staurosporine (10 μM). Additionally, the toxicity was tested on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos in vivo by monitoring their development (0–72 h); toxicity was not evident at 30 μg/mL.
Highlights
Geissospermum species (Apocynaceae) grow in the Amazonian rainforest [1,2]
It has been reported that these trees are a rich source of indole alkaloids [1,3]
Gentry bark has received minimal attention with only one published study that described the presence of three alkaloids: 11-methoxygeissospermidine, flavopereirine, and geissosreticulatine [3]
Summary
Geissospermum species (Apocynaceae) grow in the Amazonian rainforest [1,2]. For many years they have proven popular as therapeutic plants used in traditional medicines as remedies for malarial, tumors, bacterial infections, and pain relief, and as anti-inflammatory agents [1,3,4]. Among 12 species, only six (G. argenteum, G. fuscum, G. leave, G. reticulatum, G. sericeum, and G. urceolatum) have been studied phytochemically [1,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. As a part of our investigation into the composition and properties of plants from the Amazon region, we document discovery of a new indole alkaloid from G. reticulatum bark—geissospermiculatine.
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