Plants of the 'Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis' from Mexico,1552. Zephyranthes fosteri (Amaryllidaceae) Alkaloids

CENTENO BETANZOS, L.Y.; REYES CHILPA, R.; PIGNI, N.B.; JANKOWSKI, C.K.; TORRAS-CLAVERIA, L.; BASTIDA, J.

Chemistry & Biodiversity

Wiley-VHCA AG

Lugar: Zürich; Año: 2021

he Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (Booklet of Indian Medicinal Plants) is the first book of medicinal plants written in the American continent. It was first published in 1939 as ?An Aztec Herbal?. One of the depicted plants is Huetzcanixochitl (laughing flower) interpreted as Zephyranthes fosteri (Amaryllidaceae). No chemical or pharmacological studies are reported for this species; so, we decide to investigate it. The GC/MS of the bulbs and aerial parts extracts indicated that they contain Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, among them: lycorine, 3-O-acetylpowelline, and norlycoramine. An unknown major alkaloid was isolated and identified by1H,13C-NMR andMS, as 3?-demethoxy-6-epimesembranol (1). The methanolic extract, the alkaloid fraction, and compound 1inhibited acetylcholinesterase in vitro. Mesembrine alkaloids are found in Sceletium species (Aizoaceae). Several are known as serotonin recapture inhibitors and have been proposed as potential antidepressant drugs. The presence of