INVESTIGATION OF THE IN VITRO AND EX VIVO ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF TRADITIONALLY USED LYCOPODIUM SPECIES FROM SOUTH AMERICA ON ALKALOID EXTRACTS

EDUARDO LUIS KONRATH; BRUNA MEDEIROS NEVES; PAULA SANTANA LUNARDI; CAROLINA DOS SANTOS PASSOS; ANDRÉ SIMÕES-PIRES; MARÍA GABRIELA ORTEGA; CARLOS ALBERTO GONÇALVES; JOSÉ L. CABRERA; JOSÉ CLÁUDIO FONSECA MOREIRA; AMÉLIA T. HENRIQUES

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

Año: 2012 vol. 139 p. 58 - 58

font size="3" face="Cambria"> Abstract: Aims of the study: The study was aimed at evaluating medicinal and therapeutic potentials of two Lycopodiaceae species, Lycopodium clavatum (L.) and Lycopodium thyoides (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd), both used in South American folk medicine for central nervous system conditions. Alkaloid extracts were evaluated for chemical characterization, acetylcholinesterase and antioxidant activities. Materials and methods: The alkaloid extracts obtained by alkaline extraction were determined for each species by GC/MS examination. The evaluation of the anticholinesterase and the antioxidant activities of the extracts were tested by determining in vitro and in vivo models. Effects on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were evaluated in vitro using rat brain homogenates and in mice brain structures after a single administration (25, 10 and 1 mg/kg i.p.) of the alkaloid extracts. The in vitro antiox