curcumin and canadine

Topics: Benzylisoquinolines; Berberine; Berberine Alkaloids; Drug Stability; Drug Storage; Humans; Hydrastis; Infections; Mass Spectrometry; Plant Preparations; Plant Roots; Principal Component Analysis

Topics: Alkaloids; Benzylisoquinolines; Berberine; Biological Products; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Hydrastis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Plant Extracts; Plant Roots; Reproducibility of Results

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is used to combat inflammation and infection. Its antibacterial activity in vitRO has been attributed to its alkaloids, the most abundant of which is berberine. The goal of these studies was to compare the composition, antibacterial activity, and efflux pump inhibitory activity of ethanolic extracts prepared from roots and aerial portions of H. canadensis. Ethanolic extracts were prepared separately from roots and aerial portions of six H. canadensis plants. Extracts were analyzed for alkaloid concentration using LC-MS and tested for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC 8325-4) and for inhibition of ethidium bromide efflux. Synergistic antibacterial activity was observed between the aerial extract (FIC 0.375) and to a lesser extent the root extract (FIC 0.750) and berberine. The aerial extract inhibited ethidium bromide efflux from wild-type S. aureus but had no effect on the expulsion of this compound from an isogenic derivative deleted for norA. Our studies indicate that the roots of H. canadensis contain higher levels of alkaloids than the aerial portions, but the aerial portions synergize with berberine more significantly than the roots. Furthermore, extracts from the aerial portions of H. canadensis contain efflux pump inhibitors, while efflux pump inhibitory activity was not observed for the root extract. The three most abundant H. canadensis alkaloids, berberine, hydrastine, and canadine, are not responsible for the efflux pump inhibitory activity of the extracts from H. canadensis aerial portions.

Topics: Alkaloids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Proteins; Benzylisoquinolines; Berberine; Drug Synergism; Ethidium; Hydrastis; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins; Plant Components, Aerial; Plant Extracts; Plant Roots; Staphylococcus aureus

Goldenseal is an herb that is widely used in dietary supplements, eye washes, and skin lotions. The presence of Goldenseal root powder in dietary supplements and the topical application of Goldenseal preparations raise the possibility that an adverse phototoxic reaction may result from an interaction between its constituent alkaloids and light in exposed tissues. We have previously shown that berberine, the major alkaloid in Goldenseal powder, in combination with UVA causes DNA damage and cell death in HaCaT keratinocytes [(2001) Chem. Res. Toxicol. 14, 1529]. We have studied the photochemical and photobiological properties of four minor alkaloids found in Goldenseal, namely, hydrastine, palmatine, canadine, and hydrastinine. UVA radiation of palmatine in aqueous solutions generated no (1)O(2), but in CH(2)Cl(2), copious amounts of (1)O(2) were detected (Phi = 0.2). Palmatine also photogenerated oxygen-centered radicals, (*)OH and O(2)(*)(-) in aerated aqueous buffer and acetonitrile, respectively, as detected by the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO). In nitrogen-sparged acetonitrile containing DMPO, we observed the neutral palmatine radical formed by one-electron reduction. UVA irradiation (4 J/cm(2)) of HaCaT keratinocytes in the presence of palmatine (50 microM) resulted in a 50% decrease in cell viability but no DNA damage as measured by the comet assay. UVA irradiation of hydrastine, hydrastinine, or canadine (50 microM) did not cause DNA damage or cell death in keratinocytes. Although palmatine is photoactive, it is present in such small amounts in Goldenseal root powder that the phototoxicity of the herb is most likely due to berberine, the major constituent alkaloid.

Topics: Alkaloids; Benzylisoquinolines; Berberine; Berberine Alkaloids; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Humans; Hydrastis; Molecular Structure; Oxygen; Photochemistry; Photosensitizing Agents; Spectrum Analysis; Tetrahydroisoquinolines

Topics: Berberine; Biological Products; Chromatography, Paper; Hydrastis; Rare Diseases