Bioactivities of n-hexane fraction of Vateria copallifera and GC–MS analysis of its phytoconstituents

Published Date
Industrial Crops and Products
March 2017, Vol.97:87–92, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.12.011

• Author 

• Saroopa P. Samaradivakara ^a,
• Radhika Samarasekera ^b,,
• L.M. Viranga Tillekeratne ^c,
• Shiroma M. Handunnetti ^a,
• O.V.D.S. Jagathpriya Weerasena ^a,
• William R. Taylor ^d,
• Qasim Alhadidi ^c,
• Zahoor A. Shah ^c,

• aInstitute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, 90, Cumaratunga Munidasa Mawatha, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka
• bIndustrial Technology Institute, 363, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka
• cDepartment of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
• dDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft Street, MS 601, Toledo, OH 43606, USA

Received 1 August 2016. Revised 28 November 2016. Accepted 8 December 2016. Available online 13 December 2016. 

Highlights

• •
  Composition of n-hexane fraction of Vateria copallifera bark was identified for the first time by Gas chromatography–Mass spectrometry.
• •
  N-Hexane fraction was found to be rich in hydrocarbon derivatives of undacane, decane and dodecane.
• •
  Cytotoxicity, neuroprotection, nitric oxide inhibition, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities were evaluated.
• •
  Results indicated that the n-hexane fraction possess promising neuroprotective activity but weak cytotoxic, nitric oxide inhibitory antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activity.

Abstract

Vateria copallifera (Retz.) is an important timber source belonging to the family of Dipterocarpaceae, which is acknowledged as a plant family rich in a variety of bioactive chemical constituents. This study was conducted to evaluate the chemical composition and the bioactivities of the non-polar n-hexane fraction obtained by dry column chromatography of the hexane extract of V. copallifera bark. n-Hexane fraction was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Cytotoxicity was measured by the MTT assay against HeLa, MCF7, HepG2, HCT116 and SK-Mel 5 cell lines. The neuroprotective effect of the n-hexane fraction was assessed by oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) assay using PC12 cells. Nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory activity was investigated on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated microglial cells. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. Cholinesterase inhibitory activity was evaluated using acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory assays and protease inhibitory activity was evaluated by α-chymotrypsin and elastase enzyme inhibitory assays. Decane, dodecane, undecanes, naphthalene derivative, heptadecane, squalene, copaene and eicosane were identified as the major constituents (>2% peak area). The n-hexane fraction exhibited a concentration-dependent increase in the neuroprotective activity although it was not significant (p > 0.05) at the tested concentrations. Contradictorily, the n-hexane fraction treated microglia cells released significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels of NO into the medium (>100%) compared to the control counterpart. However, further studies are needed to assess the neuroprotective activity and to determine the cause of the increase of NO. The n-hexane fraction showed no cytotoxicity, antioxidant, ChE, protease and GST enzyme inhibitory activity at the tested concentrations. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the analysis of the chemical composition and the bioactive potential of the non-polar n-hexane fraction obtained by chromatography of the hexane extract of V. copallifera bark.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Vateria copallifera
• GC–MS
• n-Hexane
• Bioactivities

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 Table 1

Table 1.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.
  
  

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