Abstract
Different classes of known alkaloid compounds were identified for the first time in leaves and barks of Ficus benjamina L. from Moraceae family. The identification of 28 alkaloids in F. benjamina leaves and 14 alkaloids in its barks was identified using chromatographic analysis as Gas Chromatography associated to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). This characterization analysis allows to verifying the presence of different alkaloids type-classes in both leaves and barks, such as isoquinoline class, indole class and quinolizidine class. The quantification results are deduced by analysis with spectrophotometric assay, using a calibration curve of boldine as standard alkaloid that reveals the presence of 26 ± 0.1 μg of alkaloids boldine equivalent in 1 gram of F. benjamina leaves and 3.8 ± 0.1 μg alkaloids boldine equivalent in 1 gram of its barks. A significant correlation was observed between the total alkaloid content of crude extracts and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH), suggesting that the level of antioxidant activity in this species is strongly correlated to the alkaloid content. These findings should provide useful information for future on the pharmaceutical properties of these alkaloids from F. benjamina.
Highlights
Medicinal plants are known to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutics effects [1]-[4]
Is very important that the bromocresol green (BCG) can react with certain classes of alkaloids that have nitrogen inside their structure, but not including amine or amid alkaloids that not reacted with this reagent [26]
Results of BCG assay showed that the major content of alkaloids boldine equivalents is present in leaves extract (26.0 ± 0.1 μg boldine equivalents g−1) respect to barks extract (3.8 ± 0.1 μg boldine equivalents g−1) from F. benjamina
Summary
Medicinal plants are known to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutics effects [1]-[4]. Alkaloids are some of these substances that have different structures and many show a range of pharmacological activities. They are classified according to the amino acids that provide their nitrogen atom and. The literatures report that a variety of analysis techniques such as high performance liquid-chromatography (HPLC) [3]-[7] [9]-[12] Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Flame Ionization (GC-MS/FID) [5] [8] [9], thin layer chromatography (TLC) [5], have been used for separation and/or determination of the volatile components of plants such as alkaloids. GC-MS is one of the most important instrumental separation techniques for analysing complex mixtures, identifying the separated components by using mass spectra [13]
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