South African Journal of Botany, vol.127, pp.195-200, 2019 (SCI-Expanded)
© 2019 SAABThe continuing research for the determination of bioactive secondary metabolites from Turkish geophytes as therapeutic agents for dementia is mainly based on the need for drug candidates suitable for brain diseases. In this study, the in vitro anticholinesterase properties and cytotoxic activities of the tuber extract and alkaloidal fractions of Corydalis solida (L.) Clairv. ssp. incisa Lidén were investigated. Furthermore, the content of the active alkaloid fractions of the tubers was determined by LC-Q-TOF-MS. The tubers of Corydalis solida (L.) Clairv. ssp. incisa Lidén were collected from Edirne province of Turkey. The plant species were also preserved as ex-situ in Yalova-Turkey. The anticholinesterase activities of the extracts and fractions were tested by modification of the Ellman's method. The cytotoxic activities of the extract were determined by using the MTT assay against 3T3 and MCF-7 cell lines. The optimization of LC–MS conditions was used in ESI in the positive ion mode. These tests were highlighted that the alkaloidal extract of the tubers exhibited the highest activity against AChE and BuChE with IC50 values of 16.7 ± 0.6 μg/mL and 175.9 ± 3.9 μg/mL (galanthamine 6.8 ± 0.5 μg/mL and 344.4 ± 8.2 μg/mL as positive control), respectively. Among the fractions obtained from the alkaloidal extract, protoberberine-type alkaloids exerted the most promising activity against both cholinesterases, with IC50 values of 22.4 ± 0.2 μg/mL and 183.1 ± 5.3 μg/mL for AChE and BuChE, respectively. The ethanolic extract did not show any cytotoxicity against 3T3 normal fibroblast cell line, however it was found to be active against MCF-7 cell line at 50 μg/mL concentration with 57.38% inhibition. The present study described for the first time the in vitro anticholinesterase activity of Corydalis solida ssp. incisa alkaloidal extract and fractions from tubers with neuroprotective potential and their metabolite profile by LC-Q-TOF-MS. Besides, the anticholinesterase assays on alkaloidal extract and its fractions showed that protoberberine-type alkaloids were the most potent inhibitor of both AChE and BuChE.