Bioactive Metabolites of the Stem Bark of Strychnos aff. darienensis and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and UV Protection Activity in Human Skin Cell Cultures

Bioactive Metabolites of the Stem Bark of Strychnos aff. darienensis and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and UV Protection Activity in Human Skin Cell Cultures

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The genus Strychnos (Loganiaceae) is well-known as a rich source of various bioactive metabolites.In continuation of our phytochemical studies on plants from Amazonia, we examined Strychnos aff.darienensis, collected in Peru.This species has been traditionally used in South America and is still presently used as a drug by the Yanesha tribe in Peru.

Phytochemical investigation of this plant led to the isolation and structure elucidation by ΝuclearΜagnetic Resonance and High Resolution Mass Spectroscopy of 14 compounds that belong to the categories of phenolic acids [p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1) and vanillic acid (2)], flavonoids [luteolin, (3),3-O-methyl quercetin wella color touch 77 45 (4), strychnobiflavone (5), minaxin (6) and 3’,4’,7-trihydroxy-flavone (7)], lignans [syringaresinol-β-D-glucoside (8), balanophonin (9) and ficusal (10)] and alkaloids [venoterpine (11), 11-methoxyhenningsamine (12), diaboline (13) and 11-methoxy diaboline (14)].The isolated flavonoids—a class known for its anti-aging activities—were further evaluated for their biological activities on normal human skin fibroblasts.Among them, only (6), and to a lesser extent (7), exhibited cytotoxicity at 100 µg/ml.All five flavonoids suppressed intracellularreactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, either basal or following stimulation with hydrogen peroxide or both.

Moreover, luteolin and strychnobiflavone protected skin fibroblasts against ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation-induced cell death.The isolated flavonoids could prove useful bioactive ingredients in the here cosmetic industry.