Isolation of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from plants using centrifugal countercurrent chromatography

Centrifugal countercurrent chromatography (CCC), also known as centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), is an efficient, non-denaturing and rapid technique, ideal for the isolation of bioactive constituents from plants [1,2]. The technique is extremely attractive, due to its simplicity.

Many different classes of natural products have been separated by strategies involving at least one CCC step. CCC has been principally used as an initial fractionation method but it also can be employed for final separation steps. Furthermore, the selectivity of CCC is different from other chromatographic techniques and this property can provide interesting results.

Centrifugal countercurrent chromatography has been employed in the isolation of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from the common ornamental plant Buddleja davidii (Buddlejaceae). The flavonoid linarin was isolated from the leaves in a single CCC chromatographic step. Linarin inhibited the enzyme acetylcholinesterase in a TLC assay [3] to the same extent as galanthamine, which is widely used in the management of Alzheimer's disease.

The technique of CCC similarly provides an efficient means of isolating xanthones and coumarins with acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory activity.

References: 1. Ito, Y. (2005)J. Chromatogr. A 1065: 145–168.

2. Marston, A., Hostettmann, K. (2006)J. Chromatogr. A 1112: 181–194.

3. Marston, A. et al. (2002) Phytochem. Anal. 13: 51–54.