Planta Med 2013; 79 - PN35
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1348716

Chemical and Biological Investigation of Atriplex Canescens

M Kumarihamy 1, SJ Cutler 2, BL Tekwani 1, 3, ND Chaurasya 1, I Muhammad 1
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research
  • 2Department of Medicinal Chemistry
  • 3Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA

Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt., known as Four-wing saltbush (Chenopodiaceae) is a species of evergreen shrub, which is native to the western USA. Many plants from the Genus Atriplex are known to be edible; including A. canescens was eaten in the US by native Indians, and is widely used in folk medicine for various ailments. A. canescens had not been previously subjected to chemical and biological investigations, while other species afforded phytosterols, saponins, and amino acids. As part of our program to investigate psychoactive plants, an EtOH extract of this plant showed interesting biological activity, including selective inhibition of recombinant Human MAO B enzyme. Examination of the extract yielded three major constituents, 20-hydroxyecdysone (1), betaine (2), and choline (3), of which 2 is a FDA approved drug for the treatment of homocystinuria, a leading cause of heart disease. The isolation, structure elucidation, analog preparation, and biological activity of isolated compounds will be discussed in this presentation.

Acknowledgements: This work is funded by COBRE project, NIH-NIGMS P20GM104932.