Alkaloids from croton echinocarpus baill.: Anti-hiv potential

Abstract

Croton belongs to the Euphorbiaceae genus, one of the major Angiosperms families, and is widely distributed throughout the world, especially in the tropics. In this study, the hydroalcoholic extract (70% EtOH) of Croton echinocarpus leaves afforded two alkaloids: corydine and norisoboldine, and their structures were established by spectroscopic data interpretation (UV, IR, NMR and LREIMS). Both alkaloids displayed significant in vitro anti-HIV potential, inhibiting 40% of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase enzyme activity at a concentration of 100 mu g mL(-1) of norisoboldine and 450 mu g mL(-1) of corydine. Corydine showed IC50 of 356.8 mu g mL(-1), while norisoboldine was more efficient on inhibiting the RT activity, showing IC50 of 153.7 mu g mL(-1). (C) 2015 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.