Acetyl and butyryl cholinesterase inhibitory sesquiterpene lactones from Amberboa ramosa

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive memory loss that leads to a profound emotional disturbance in later stages. As no safe and effective drug is yet available for the treatment of AD, secondary metabolites from plants may be instrumental in meeting this challenge. Keeping in view this point we evaluated sesquiterpenes of medicinal plant Amberboa ramosa for their cholinesterase inhibitory activity. RESULTS: Four sesquiterpene lactones have been isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Amberboa ramosa. In which one compound Amberbin C (1) was found to be new while other three Amberin (2), Amberbin A (3), and Amberbin B (4) were previously reported ones. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using different spectroscopic techniques. Isolated compounds were tested for their inhibitory potential against acetyl cholinesterase and butyryl cholinesterase enzymes. All compounds showed excellent inhibitory activities against acetyl cholinesterase and butyryl cholinesterase. CONCLUSIONS: A new sesquiterpene lactone has been isolated and fully characterized, the sesquiterpene lactones from Amberboa ramosa showed good inhibitory activities against acetyl cholinesterase and butyryl cholinesterase enzymes, this study indicated that sesquiterpene lactone can become interesting lead molecules in drug development against Alzheimer’s disease (AD).