Comparative studies on the camptothecin content from Nothapodytes foetida and Ophiorrhiza species

Camptothecin is an anticancer quinoline alkaloid effective against colon cancer. It acts by inhibition of the enzyme DNA topoisomerase I. A comparative study of camptothecin from the indigenous plants namely Nothapodytes foetida, Ophiorrhiza mungos and Ophiorrhiza rugosa indicated highest yields of camptothecin and 9-methoxy camptothecin in N. foetida. The other two plants O. mungos and O. rugosa contained low levels of alkaloids.     

Separation of 9-methoxycamptothecin and camptothecin from Nothapodytes foetida by semipreparative HPLC

The present work describes the isolation of camptothecin and 9-methoxycamptothecin from the aerial parts of Nothapodytes foetida by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography because the separation of compounds by conventional procedures is tedious and cumbersome. The purity of the isolates is determined by physicochemical data and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.     

Comparison of techniques for the extraction of the anti-cancer drug camptothecin from Nothapodytes foetida

Extraction methods using stirring extraction, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic extraction and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were evaluated for the percentage extraction of camptothecin (CPT) and 9-methoxycamptothecin (9-Me-CPT) from Nothapodytes foetida. The extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Methanol (90%, v/v) extracted high percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT compared to ethanol (90%, v/v). The results shows that the percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT from N. foetida by MAE was more efficient in short time followed by Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic and stirring extraction methods. Maximum percentage extraction of CPT (2.67%, w/w) was obtained by MAE technique. MAE has need of 3 min, whereas ultrasonic extraction, Soxhlet extraction and stirring extraction techniques require 30, 120 and 30 min, respectively to leach higher percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT. The times taken by the microwave extraction process was 40 times less than the Soxhlet extraction for percentage extraction of alkaloids. The present results show that the extraction efficiency and considerable saving of time by MAE was more competent than the other extraction techniques.     

Quantitative analysis of cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa using 1H-NMR

A (1)H-NMR method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of pure cannabinoids and for cannabinoids present in Cannabis sativa plant material without any chromatographic purification. The experiment was performed by the analysis of singlets in the range of delta 4.0-7.0 in the (1)H-NMR spectrum, in which distinguishable signals of each cannabinoid are shown. Quantitation was performed by calculating the relative ratio of the peak area of selected proton signals of the target compounds to the known amount of the internal standard, anthracene. For this method no reference compounds are needed. It allows rapid and simple quantitation of cannabinoids with a final analysis time of only 5 min without the need for a pre-purification step.     

Quantitative analysis of ephedrine analogues from ephedra species using 1H-NMR

Four ephedrine analogues such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, and methylpseudoephedrine were determined by (1)H-NMR from Ephedra species. In the region of delta 5.0-4.0, the signals of H-1 attached to the same carbon with a hydroxyl, were well separated from each other in CDCl(3). The amount of each alkaloid was calculated by the relative ratio of the intensity of H-1 signal to the known amount of internal standard, 200 microg of anthracene. This method allows rapid determination of the quantity of four ephedrine alkaloids from Ephedra species. The amount of these alkaloids was in the range of 1.0-2.0% of dry weight depending on the plant materials.     

Camptothecinoids from the seeds of Taiwanese Nothapodytes foetida

Two new alkaloids, 9-methoxy-18,19-dehydrocamptothecin (1) and 5- hydroxymappicine-20-O-beta-glucopyranoside (2a/2b as a racemic mixture), together with nine known compounds: camptothecin (3), 9-methoxy-camptothecin (4), 5-hydroxycamptothecin (5a/5b racemic mixture), 5-hydroxy-9-methoxycamptothecin (6a/6b racemic mixture), diosmetin (7), apigenin (8), apigenin-7-O-glucopyranoside (9), rosin (cinnamyl-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside) (10) and amarantholidoside IV (11) were isolated from the immature seeds of Nothapodytes foetida (Wight) Sleumer. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. In the present research, compounds 1, 3, 4, 5a/5b and 6a/6b, also showed in vitro cytotoxicity against six cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hep3B, MDA-MB- 231, MCF-7, A549, and Ca9-22). Among them, compound 1 exhibited significant cytotoxicity against these cancer cell lines, with IC(50) of 0.24-6.57 microM. Furthermore, HPLC profiles were developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of these active constituents in different parts of this plant, including mature and immature seeds, leaves, stems and roots. The results revealed that compounds 3 and 4 have the highest concentrations, which are found in the roots part of the plant.     

HPTLC Quantitation of Camptothecin in Nothapodytes foetida (Wight) Sleumer Stem Powder

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A sensitive and reliable high-performance thin layer chromato-graphic method has been developed for quantitation of camp-tothecin...     

Quantitative analysis of PET microplastics in environmental model samples using quantitative 1H-NMR spectroscopy: validation of an optimized and consistent sample clean-up method

Identification and quantification of microplastics (MP) in environmental samples is crucial for understanding the risk and distribution of MP in the environment. Currently, quantification of MP particles in environmental samples and the comparability of different matrices is a major research topic. Research also focusses on sample preparation, since environmental samples must be free of inorganic and organic matrix components for the MP analysis. Therefore, we would like to propose a new method that allows the comparison of the results of MP analysis from different environmental matrices and gives a MP concentration in mass of MP particles per gram of environmental sample. This is possible by developing and validating an optimized and consistent sample preparation scheme for quantitative analysis of MP particles in environmental model samples in conjunction with quantitative ¹H-NMR spectroscopy (qNMR). We evaluated for the first time the effects of different environmental matrices on identification and quantification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers using the qNMR method. Furthermore, high recovery rates were obtained from spiked environmental model samples (without matrix ~ 90%, sediment ~ 97%, freshwater ~ 94%, aquatic biofilm ~ 95%, and invertebrate matrix ~ 72%), demonstrating the high analytical potential of the method.

Graphical abstract

     

Direct analysis of camptothecin from Nothapodytes nimmoniana by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS)

Desorption electrospray ionization was employed for fast and direct ambient detection of the anti-tumor drug, camptothecin, and its derivative, 9-methoxycamptothecin in Nothapodytes nimmoniana. Different parts of the plant such as leaves, stems and bark were examined. The ion intensities suggest that the concentration in bark is higher than that in the leaves and stems. The method does not require any sample preparation or preseparation. The identity of the alkaloids was further confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry.     

Quantitative analysis of isoprene units in natural rubber and synthetic polyisoprene using 1H-NMR spectroscopy with an internal standard

Isoprene units in natural rubber (NR) and its synthetic analogues were quantified by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an internal standard. The effect of PEG and rubber concentrations, molar ratio of rubber/PEG, measuring temperature and scan number on the quantification was investigated to establish the respective working range. Analysis of commercial grades of NR revealed that the differences in 1,4 isoprene content is caused by the production process and feedstock, in which proteins and lipids were found to be the major impurity in NR. Gel fraction of NR has insignificant effect on the measurement of 1,4 isoprene content. Furthermore, the new method was found to produce good results for the quantification of 1,4 and 3,4 units of synthetic polyisoprenes.     

Quantitative analysis of bilobalide and ginkgolides from Ginkgo biloba leaves and Ginkgo products using (1)H-NMR

1H-NMR spectrometry was applied to the quantitative analysis of the bilobalide, ginkgolides A, B, and C in Ginkgo biloba leaves and six kinds of commercial Ginkgo products without any chromatographic purification. The experiment was performed by the analysis of each singlet H-12, which were well separated in the range of delta 6.0-7.0 in the (1)H-NMR spectrum. However, the H-12 protons of bilobalide and ginkgolides may have overlapped with H-6 or H-8 protons of the Ginkgo flavonoids. Therefore, the optimum (1)H-NMR solvent for the analysis of the compound was selected through the evaluation of solvent effects on the resolution of these signals from the compounds. Acetone-d(6)-benzene-d(6) (50 : 50) was found to be the best one among the solvents evaluated. The quantity of the compounds was calculated by the relative ratio of the intensity of each compound to the known amount of internal standard (25 microgram), phloroglucinol. This method allows rapid and simple quantitation of underivatized bilobalide and ginkgolides in 5 min without any pre-purification steps.     

Correction to: Quantitative analysis of PET microplastics in environmental model samples using quantitative 1H-NMR spectroscopy: validation of an optimized and consistent sample clean-up method

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - The original version of this article contained a mistake.     

Metabolic fingerprinting of Ephedra species using 1H-NMR spectroscopy and principal component analysis

The metabolomic analysis of Ephedra species was performed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis. A broad range of metabolites could be detected by 1H-NMR spectroscopy without any chromatographic separation. The principal component analysis used to reduce the huge data set obtained from the 1H-NMR spectra of the plant extracts clearly discriminated three different Ephedra species. The major differences in Ephedra sinica, Ephedra intermedia and Ephedra distachya var. distachya were found to be due to benzoic acid analogues in the aqueous fraction and ephedrine-type alkaloids in the organic fraction. Based on this metabolomic recognition, one of nine commercial Ephedra materials evaluated was shown to be a mixture of Ephedra species. This method will be a useful tool for chemotaxonomic analysis and authentification of Ephedra species including quality control of plant materials.     

13C- and 1H-NMR. Assignments for colchicine derivatives

The ¹³C-NMR. spectra of a number of colchicine derivatives are given comprising examples of the normal series ( 4→10 ), iso series ( 11→16 ) and colchicine series ( 17 ), which were either reported in the literature or obtained by partial synthesis or degradation reactions. The ¹³C-NMR. assignments were made by comparisons with known compounds and selective single-frequency offresonance decoupling experiments. Selective proton decoupling experiments have also allowed assignments of the H —C(11) and H —C(12) protons of the iso and colchicine series.     

Assessment of the complexation degree of camptothecin derivatives and cyclodextrins using spectroscopic and separative methodologies

The complexation of camptothecin and homocamptothecin derivatives, topoisomerase I inhibitors, with two cyclodextrins (CDs) of pharmaceutical interest (native and hydroxypropylated β-CD) was studied at pH 3.5 and 6. In a first step, the affinity order of the six compounds studied for the β-CD and HP-β-CD was evaluated in HPLC using immobilized stationary phases [Cyclobond I 2000 (β-CD) and Cyclobond I 2000 RSP (HP-β-CD)]. In a second step, the apparent binding constants of the 12 complexes studied were determined at both pH by HPLC using Scott’s method with CD as a chiral additive. The 1:1 stoichiometry of the complex formed between HP-β-CD and the homocamptothecin derivative elomotecan (R)-6 was established by fluorescence spectroscopy using the continuous variation method developed by Job and ESI-MS. Complementary investigations were achieved for topotecan (S)-3 and elomotecan (R)-6 using CE. Further studies provided similar conclusions concerning affinity of all the derivatives studied for both CDs: that is, a slightly larger affinity was observed for HP-β-CD with respect to β-CD, except for (S)-3. For (S)-3, this affinity increase with pH, in the range studied.     

Time-resolved biomarker discovery in 1H-NMR data using generalized fuzzy Hough transform alignment and parallel factor analysis

This work addresses the subject of time-series analysis of comprehensive ¹H-NMR data of biological origin. One of the problems with toxicological and efficacy studies is the confounding of correlation between the administered drug, its metabolites and the systemic changes in molecular dynamics, i.e., the flux of drug-related molecules correlates with the molecules of system regulation. This correlation poses a problem for biomarker mining since this confounding must be untangled in order to separate true biomarker molecules from dose-related molecules. One way of achieving this goal is to perform pharmacokinetic analysis. The difference in pharmacokinetic time profiles of different molecules can aid in the elucidation of the origin of the dynamics, this can even be achieved regardless of whether the identity of the molecule is known or not. This mode of analysis is the basis for metabonomic studies of toxicology and efficacy. One major problem concerning the analysis of ¹H-NMR data generated from metabonomic studies is that of the peak positional variation and of peak overlap. These phenomena induce variance in the data, obscuring the true information content and are hence unwanted but hard to avoid. Here, we show that by using the generalized fuzzy Hough transform spectral alignment, variable selection, and parallel factor analysis, we can solve both the alignment and the confounding problem stated above. Using the outlined method, several different temporal concentration profiles can be resolved and the majority of the studied molecules and their respective fluxes can be attributed to these resolved kinetic profiles. The resolved time profiles hereby simplifies finding true biomarkers and bio-patterns for early detection of biological conditions as well as providing more detailed information about the studied biological system. The presented method represents a significant step forward in time-series analysis of biological ¹H-NMR data as it provides almost full automation of the whole data analysis process and is able to analyze over 800 unique features per sample. The method is demonstrated using a ¹H-NMR rat urine dataset from a toxicology study and is compared with a classical approach: COW alignment followed by bucketing.     

Applicable and cost-efficient microplastic analysis by quantitative 1H-NMR spectroscopy using benchtop NMR and NoD methods

In continuation of our work on the proof-of-concept that quantitative NMR spectroscopy may be a valuable tool in microplastic (MP) analysis and quantification, we present here investigations using low-field NMR spectrometers and nondeuterated solvents for the analysis of solutions of MP particles in suitable solvents. The use of low-field NMR spectrometers (benchtop NMR) that are considerably more cost-effective in terms of purchase and operating costs compared with high-field NMR spectrometers and the use of nondeuterated solvents (NoD method) leads to an applicable and cost-efficient method for mass-based MP analysis. For benchtop 80-MHz NMR, limits of detection for polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS) are in the same range as if a high-field 500-MHz NMR spectrometer was used for quantification (500 MHz: PET 1 μg/ml, PVC 42 μg/ml, and PS 9 μg/ml; 80 MHz: PET 4 μg/ml, PVC 19 μg/ml, and PS 21 μg/ml) for polymers being dissolved in deuterated solvents. The same is true for the corresponding limits of quantification. Moreover, it is shown for the first time that quantitative determination of the mass concentration of PET, PVC, and PS is also possible using NoD methods by evaluating the integrals of polymer-specific signals relative to an internal or external standard. Detection limits for NoD methods are in a similar range as if deuterated solvents were used (PET 2 μg/ml, PVC 39 μg/ml, and PS 8 μg/ml) using a high-field 500-MHz spectrometer or the 80-MHz spectrometer (PET 5 μg/ml).     

Quantitative analysis of polysaccharides from Plantago major leaves using the Dreywood method

A method for determining with a relative uncertainty of less than 3% the total content of polysaccharides in Plantago major leaves that were converted to galacturonic acid was developed using the Dreywood method. The polysaccharide content in Plantago major leaves determined by the developed method was 1.44–1.52%. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 221–223, May–June, 2006     

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of 7-alkynyl camptothecin derivatives

Several 7-alkynyl camptothecin derivatives were prepared via Sonogashira coupling.And anti-tumor activities of these compounds were evaluated against human esophageal cancer cell line (Eca-109),human chronic myeloid leukaemia cell line (K562),bladder cancer cell line (5637) and gastric cell line (SGC7901).Compounds 9a-d and 10a exhibited remarkable in vitro cytotoxic activity,compared with topotecan.     

Determination of standard sample purity using the high-precision 1H-NMR process

This paper discusses the technique for high-precision quantification using ¹H-NMR to determine the purity of analytical standard samples. The procedure described is based on the use of internal reference samples in an ¹H NMR experiment in our laboratories. The sample preparation and all relevant NMR parameters were optimized for minimum uncertainty. The validation of accuracy and precision was performed by comparing different certified reference materials. It was shown that the high-precision measurement is applicable even for relatively small sample amounts down to 2.5 mg. The relative combined uncertainty of measurement was found to be 0.15%. Two different approaches for uncertainty calculation were compared; a complete uncertainty budget was calculated.