Amino acids content and acetylcholinesterase inhibition of Huperzia saururus infusion and decoction

MARIANA VALLEJO; JESICA A. DIMMER; MARIA GABRIELA ORTEGA; JOSÉ LUIS CABRERA; AGNESE ALICIA MARIEL

PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY

TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2013 vol. 51 p. 1341 - 1341

1388-0209

ontext: Huperzia saururus (Lam.) Trevis. (Lycopodiaceae), is an autochthonous plant species in Argentina, is used as memory improver in traditional medicine. It was studied for this reason, and the purified alkaloid extract did show an important activity on learning and memory. The species is mostly consumed in the form of infusions and decoctions. Objectives: To evaluate the activity of the H. saururus infusion and decoction as inhibitors of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme and, to determine the amino acid content in both extracts. Material and methods: Infusion and decoction were purified by ionic exchange chromatography and analyzed by HPLC-UV, and the AChE inhibition of these extracts was evaluated by using the Ellman method. Results: Both infusion and decoction exerted strong AChE inhibitory activities (IC50 = 7.2 ± 0.4 and 22.7 ± 5.6 μg/mL). Among other nine amino acids, arginine (Arg) was identified in a concentration greater than 9 mg/100 g of dried aerial p