Quantitative CE analysis of punicalagin in Combretum aculeatum extracts traditionally used in Senegal for the treatment of tuberculosis

Abstract

Quantitative CE analysis of punicalagin in Combretum aculeatum extracts traditionally used in Senegal for the treatment of tuberculosisMycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of tuberculosis, an infectious bacterial disease, which most commonly affects the lungs. In the search for novel active compounds or medicines against tuberculosis, an ethnopharmacological survey combined with a hostpathogen assay has recently highlighted the potency of an aqueous extract of Combretum aculeatum. C. aculeatum is used in traditional medicine and has demonstrated a significant in vitro antimycobacterial activity. Punicalagin, an ellagitannin, was isolated and found to be related to the biological activity of the extract. An analytical method for the evaluation of punicalagin in C. aculeatum was developed by capillary electrophoresis. After method optimization, the quantification of punicalagin was achieved for the evaluation of various plant extracts to determine the content of punicalagin related to the extraction modes and conditions, origin of the plant material, and harvesting period. The developed method demonstrated that the leaves presented the highest punicalagin content compared to the seeds and stems. A decoction of 30 min in boiling water was found to be the best extraction mode of C. aculeatum.

Potential Anti-Tuberculosis Activity of the Extracts and Their Active Components of Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. and Perr. with Special Emphasis on Polyphenols

“…Some other ellagitannins are also known to possess in vitro growth inhibitory effects against mycobacterial strains. For example, Asres et al, 2001 [ 45 ] found that punicalagin isolated from the stem bark of Combretum molle completely inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis ATCC 27294 at a concentration of 1000 µg/mL, and Diop et al, 2019 [ 46 ] found that fractions enriched with the ellagitannin isomers punicalagin α and β effectively inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium marinum , whereas a fraction enriched with punicacortein D showed a weaker effect.…”

“…However, ETs are mostly too large to be absorbed as such in vivo, and in the human body, they are mainly present as their degradation products of urolithins [ 47 ]. Thus, the role of ETs in anti-TB traditional remedies might mostly be due to their metabolically available products, the urolithins [ 46 , 48 ]. Since we also found that the same ellagitannins were present in a water extract of the stem bark of A. leiocarpa (HPLC-DAD result not published), this could justify the traditional use of water extracts (decoctions and macerations) of A. leiocarpa for the treatment of tuberculosis and its symptoms, such as (bloody and prolonged) cough, assuming that the urolithins and ellagic acid and its derivatives, resulting from the degradation of the ETs would be antimycobacterially active or that some metabolically unchanged smaller molecular ETs would be active constituents in the extract.…”

“…Since we also found that the same ellagitannins were present in a water extract of the stem bark of A. leiocarpa (HPLC-DAD result not published), this could justify the traditional use of water extracts (decoctions and macerations) of A. leiocarpa for the treatment of tuberculosis and its symptoms, such as (bloody and prolonged) cough, assuming that the urolithins and ellagic acid and its derivatives, resulting from the degradation of the ETs would be antimycobacterially active or that some metabolically unchanged smaller molecular ETs would be active constituents in the extract. Accordingly, in their investigation on antimycobacterial compounds of Combretum aculeatum , Diop et al, 2019 [ 46 ] suggested that the effects of the traditional decoction of this plant could mostly be due to ellagic acid and urolithins.…”

Advances and strategies for capillary electrophoresis in the characterization of traditional Chinese medicine: A review of the past decade (2011–2021)

“…Facile separation was achieved because of the stable complex formed between the borate buffer and the hydroxyl moieties of the phenolic molecules (liquiritin, glycyrrhizic acid, and chlorogenic acid). Diop et al compared capillaries with different diameters to analyze punicalagin phenolic in Combretum aculeatum (Diop et al, 2019) by CZE-UV with 25 mM phosphate buffer at a pH of 7.4 (with 1 M Tris) as an optimized BGE. A comparison of punicalagin content among the leaves, seeds, and stems using this approach revealed that the leaves had the highest punicalagin content (Diop et al, 2019).…”

“…Diop et al compared capillaries with different diameters to analyze punicalagin phenolic in Combretum aculeatum (Diop et al, 2019) by CZE-UV with 25 mM phosphate buffer at a pH of 7.4 (with 1 M Tris) as an optimized BGE. A comparison of punicalagin content among the leaves, seeds, and stems using this approach revealed that the leaves had the highest punicalagin content (Diop et al, 2019).…”