Variations of huperzine A content in Lycopodiaceae species from tropics

• Published in: Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines
• Main Author: Sahidan N.; Choo C.Y.; Latiff A.; Jaman R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Pharmaceutical University 2012
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84859633967&doi=10.3724%2fSP.J.1009.2012.00125&partnerID=40&md5=d725f60b4a96a4c13ced2337230bc7ae

(-) Huperzine A is a bioactive alkaloid from Huperzia serrata (Lycopodiaceae) used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. High yielding (-) huperzine A species is of interest for mass propagation since it grows slowly in temperate countries. The content of (-) huperzine A from temperate countries was reported but none reported from tropical species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of (-) huperzine A from tropical club mosses and further identify a high yielding species. Club mosses from Lycopodiaceae family were collected from Peninsular Malaysia. The collected club mosses were dried, pulverized and extracted with methanol. A gradient reverse phase HPLC-photodiode array detector method with increasing amount of methanol in 0.01 % trifluoroacetic acid was developed. The calibration curve was linear from 5 to 100 μgmL-1 with correlation coefficient, r2, of 0.998 1. The precision for both intra- and inter-day peak area were between 0.48% to 1.24 % and 0.95% to 3.85 %, respectively. The recovery of the method was between 99.8% to 103.8 %. Though geographically segregated, (-) huperzine A content in Huperzia phlegmaria and H.carinata found in the tropics was highest and similar to species in Australasia. Both species may provide a good source of (-) huperzine A. © 2012 China Pharmaceutical University.