Publications scientifiques
D Njamen
Z. Tanee Fomum
Maria Halabalaki
AL Skaltsounis
Μichael N. Alexis
Planta Medica
In most developing countries, the traditional medicine based on preparations from medicinal plants still stays one of the main appeals. Many Erythrina species for example are used in the traditional system of medicine in Cameroon for the treatment of menopause related illnesses. Additionally, the Leguminosae family is well known for its great content in isoflavonoids which have been shown to exhibit numerous biological activities including estrogenic/anti-estrogenic activity (so called phytoestrogens) [1]. In our endeavour, aiming to discover novel active natural products based on the long-established empirical traditional knowledge, phytochemical investigation of Erythrina poeppigiana (Fabaceae), a Leguminosae species growing in humid and sub-humid tropical lowland is undertake. After a qualitative evaluation of DCM and MeOH extracts using TLC and HPLC-PDA, further investigation was performed on both extracts leading to isolation and structure determination of a number of secondary metabolites using several chromatographic (VCC, CC, FCPC, HPLC) and spectroscopic (UV, MS, 1&2D NMR) techniques, respectively. At this stage of the work, 10 isoflavonoids (5 novel compounds), one pterocarpan and 3 simple phenolic ester were isolated from the DCM extract and 4 Erythrina alkaloids from the MeOH extract. The ability of the isolated compounds derived from the DCM extract to bind to the estrogen receptor (ER α & ER β ) was estimated. Most of them found to be potent ligands. References: [1] Veitch, N.C. (2007) Nat. Prod. Rep. 24:417–464.
