Preliminary Phytochemical Study of the Ecuadorian Plant Croton Elegans Kunth (Euphorbiaceae)

Abstract

The species Croton elegans Kunth, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae and known with the common name "mosquera", is a native medicinal plant of Ecuador. Due to its medical applications, we are interested in secondary metabolite composition. After extraction with hexane and preparation of the alkaloid extract, preparative chromatographic fractionation in both normal and direct phase was performed. 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, HSQC and HMBC experiments, together with polarimetric measurements, were conducted in order to characterize the purified compunds. Two triterpene metabolites (friedelin and cycloeucalenol) and two morphinan alkaloids ((+)-pallidine and (+)-O-methylpallidine) were obtained in a pure form. This work represents the first report on the phytochemistry of C. elegans and probably the second publication on the natural (+)-pallidine alkaloid.

Pharmacology and Phytochemistry of Ecuadorian Medicinal Plants: An Update and Perspectives

“…Friedelin (13), cycloeucalenol ( 14), (+)-pallidine (15), and (+)-O-methyl-pallidine (16) (Figure 3) were identified using spectroscopic techniques [52].…”

“…to the identification of a few lycodine-type and lycopodine-type alkaloids (46-50) (Figure 8) in H. compacta, H. columnaris, and H. tetragona. The flavones selgin (51) and tricin (52) (Figure 8) were isolated from H. brevifolia and H. espinosana, and tricin (52) was also detected in the other five species. The rare serratene triterpenes serratenediol (53), serratenediol-3-O-acetate (54), 21-episerratene-diol (55), and 21-episerratenediol 3-O-acetate (56) (Figure 8) were isolated from H. crassa.…”

“…In addition, the presence of unprecedented high-molecular-weight alkaloids was determined. An analytical UHPLC-UV-MS method for the quantification of tricin (52) in the extracts of Huperzia plants was also described [74].…”

“…The significant AChE and monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitory activity of the alkaloidal fractions from H. brevifolia, H. compacta, H. espinosana, and H. tetragona may support the use of these plants to prepare brews that induce psychoactive effects in participants in magical-religious ceremonies [4]. The unusually high amount of tricin (52) in H. brevifolia and H. compacta is remarkable, where this flavone is considered a potent selective inhibitor of different cancer cell lines and a potential colorectal cancer chemopreventive agent [74].…”

Chemical Composition, Enantiomeric Distribution, and Sensory Evaluation of the Essential Oils Distilled from the Ecuadorian Species Myrcianthes myrsinoides (Kunth) Grifo and Myrcia mollis (Kunth) DC. (Myrtaceae)

“…As part of a project aiming to valorize Ecuadorian spontaneous flora [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25], the chemical composition and sensory profile of Myrcianthes myrsinoides (Kunth) Grifo and Myrcia mollis (Kunth) DC essential oils (EOs) are here reported for the first time. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and enantioselective GC-MS were used for the quali-quantitative analysis, and GC-olfactometry (GC-O) to evaluate the odor active compounds.…”