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Bioassay-guided isolation and identification of anti-Alzheimer’s active compounds from Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames

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Abstract

A bioassay-guided approach was employed to identify the active compounds from the whole herb of Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames, an orchidaceous medicinal plant. As a result, fourteen compounds were obtained from the active fractions. The structures of the isolates were identified as methyl 4-[2-(butoxymethyl)-5-formyl-pyrrol-1-yl] butyrate (1), 5,3′-dihydroxy-3,7,4′-trimethoxyflavone (2), populnin (3), scutellarein (4), quercetin (5), kaempferol (6), stigmasterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), β-daucosterol (8), trans-p-hydroxy cinnamic acid (9), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester (10), 3-(4-tolyloxy)-propanoic acid (11), 2-benzothiazolol (12), ethyl ferulate (13) and kumatakenin (14) by comparing the spectroscopic data from the isolated compounds with the data reported in the literature. Compound 1 was a new natural compound. Compounds 2, 4–6 and 9–14 were first reported from the genus Spiranthes. Compound 7 was isolated from S. sinensis for the first time. In addition, compounds 5, 6, 11 and 13 were found to have potent anti-acetylcholinesterase (anti-AChE) activities with IC50 values ranging from 8.63 ± 0.37 to 19.97 ± 1.05 μg/mL, which indicates that S. sinensis has the potential in the development of new anti-Alzheimer’s disease (anti-AD) drugs.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the following projects: Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province, Qinglan Project of Yangzhou University (20180210), High-end Talents Supporting Project of Yangzhou University, and Postgraduate Practice Innovation Project in Jiangsu Province (SJCX20_1385).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Meijia Zou, Runkun Wang

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Meijia Zou, Runkun Wang, Qimeng Yin & Liang Liu

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Liang Liu

  3. Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Liang Liu

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  1. Meijia Zou
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Correspondence to Liang Liu.

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Zou, M., Wang, R., Yin, Q. et al. Bioassay-guided isolation and identification of anti-Alzheimer’s active compounds from Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames. Med Chem Res 30, 1849–1855 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00044-021-02777-8

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