Alkaloid profile in Pyrolirion albicans Herb. (Amaryllidaceae), a Peruvian endemic species

Abstract

The Amaryllidaceae family is widely distributed in different regions of the neotropics and temperate areas of the world. Species of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae are unique in producing the alkaloid galanthamine, which inhibits the action of acetylcholinesterase and is used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In Perú, 15 genera and 68 species belonging to the Amaryllidoideae have been reported in different types of forest, ranging from wet montane to dry, as well as the sandy biomes of the Pacific coastal region, with the greatest diversity in the south. In the tribe Eustephieae, the Andean genus Pyrolirion Herb has eight species, six of which are endemic to Peru. In this work, the leaves and bulbs of Pyrolirion albicans were analyzed for their alkaloid content for the first time, using gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). The alkaloids determined in the leaves were galanthamine, chlidanthine, tazettine and lycorine and those in the bulbs were galanthamine, N-demethylgalanthamine, vittatine/crinine, montanine, pancracine, sternbergine, lycorine and hippeastrine. Owing to their important bioactive properties, the high quantity of montanine and galanthamine determined in the bulbs is of particular interest. Keywords Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, GC-MS, Galanthamine, Montanine, Pyrolirion albicans, Endemism