Leishmanicidal, Trypanocidal, anti-fungal and anti-helmintic activities of extracts and isoquinoline isolated from Monodora tenuifolia Benth (Annonaceae)

Abstract

The seeds of Monodora tenuifolia Benth are used for the treatment of skin diseases. The roots are used against dysentery and toothache. Little work has been done on this species, and to our knowledge, no activity has been attributed to the leaves of this plant. In this paper, we have evaluated Leishmanicidal, Trypanocidal, anti-fungal and anti-helmintic activities in order to attribute therapeutic properties to the plants growing in Côte d’Ivoire. Hot and cold methanol extracts were obtained from M. tenuifolia. Two compounds namely (-)-xylopinidine (1) and (-)-N-methylarmeparvine (2) were isolated for the first time from the leaves of cold methanol extract of M. tenuifolia (Annonaceae). Their structures were established from the spectral data obtained (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; NMR, Mass Spectroscopy, MS, Infra-Red, IR and Ultra Violet Visible, UV Vis spectrocopies). Methanol extracts (hot and cold) and isolated compounds were screened against Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma brucei, Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Caenorhabditis elegans. The cold and hot methanol extracts from M. tenuifolia, exerted the most significant activity against T. brucei (LC100: 12.5 mg/L, cold methanol extract) and (LC100: 25 mg/L, hot methanol extract). This is the first report on the anti-protozoal (anti-parasitic), anti-fungal and anti-helmintic activities of these extracts and compounds. Our results review huge potentials for further studies of the cold extract for enhanced Trypanocidal activity.