Title:Antileishmanial Activity of Labdane Diterpenes Isolated from Alpinia nigra Seeds
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Author(s): Sudipta Ghosh, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Vikash Kumar Dubey and Latha Rangan
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Alpinia nigra, antileishmanial activity, hemolysis, labdane diterpene, Leishmania donovani.
Abstract: Background: Alpinia nigra is a well-known ethnomedicinally important plant used to
treat many diseases in the folks.
Objective: It has been investigated for its antileshmanial activity in this study.
Method: Mature aromatic seeds were subjected to organic solvent (n-hexane, ethylaceate and methanol)
extraction. All the extracts were tested against Leishmania donovoni promastigotes in vitro. The
active extracts were subjected to column chromatography for further separation and purification of
compounds. The purified compounds were characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques and
tested against the promastigotes.
Results: Two of the extracts along with the purified compound A and B were found significantly active
against the leishmania promastigotes. MTT assay revealed remarkable leshmanicidal efficacy of
compound A (IC50 – 63.0 nM) and B (IC50 - 90.5 nM) against the promastigotes. Human red blood
cells hemolysis experiment suggests both the compounds to be fairly safe.
Conclusion: These diterpene compounds could be used as potential hit molecules for further drug
development against Leishmaniasis. This is the first report of antileshmanial activities of two isolated
labdane diterpenes from A. nigra.
