Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry · 2002 · 51 citations · 10 references
MedicineNeurosciencePharmacologyBiochemical PharmacologyNeurochemistryNeuropharmacologyCholinergic NeurochemistryCholinergic PharmacologyNerve RegenerationNeurochemical PharmacologyNeuroprotectionNeurotrophic FactorsAcetylcholinesterase FunctionAcetylcholinesterase InhibitorsActive Compound IsolationNerve Growth Factor SignalingNeurite Outgrowth InhibitionNeuroactive CompoundsNeuroactive Natural ProductsPlant Alkaloids
A methanol extract of Coptidis Rhizoma effectively enhanced the outgrowth of neurite in PC12 cells induced by nerve growth factor (NGF). Following solvent partition and preparative HPLC, berberine was isolated as the major active compound. Berberine enhanced the proportion of neurite-bearing cells in a dose-dependent manner without cytotoxicity. Its structural relatives, palmatine and coptisine, showed a slightly weaker NGF-enhancing effect than berberine. These three alkaloids inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity at a level comparable to that of physostigmine, but this inhibition was not responsible for the potentiation of NGF-induced neurite outgrowth. It is demonstrated for the first time that protoberberine alkaloids potentiated the NGF-induced differentiation of neural cells.
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