Bioactivity-guided Separation of the Active Compounds in Acacia pennata Responsible for the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease

Nat Prod Commun. 2015 Aug;10(8):1431-4.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the health benefits of plants used in Thai food, specifically Acacia pennata Willd., in Alzheimer's prevention. A. pennata twigs strongly inhibited β-amyloid aggregation. Bioactivity-guided separation of the active fractions yielded six known compounds, tetracosane (1), 1-(heptyloxy)-octadecane (2), methyl tridecanoate (3), arborinone (4), confertamide A (5) and 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-pyrrolidin-2-carboxylic acid (6). The structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. Biological testing revealed that tetracosane (1) was the most potent inhibitor of β-amyloid aggregation, followed by 1-(heptyloxy)-octadecane (2) with IC50 values of 0.4 and 12.3 μM. Methyl tridecanoate (3), arborinone (4) and 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-pyrrolidin-2-carboxylic acid (6) moderately inhibited β-amyloid aggregation. In addition, tetracosane (1) and methyl tridecanoate (3) weakly inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). These results suggested that the effect of A. pennata on Alzheimer's disease was likely due to the inhibition of β-amyloid aggregation. Thus A. pennata may be beneficial for Alzheimer's prevention.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acacia / chemistry*
  • Acetylcholinesterase / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease / enzymology
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease / prevention & control*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors
  • Plant Extracts
  • Acetylcholinesterase