Anti-leishmanial activity of alkaloidal extracts obtained from different organs of Aspidosperma ramiflorum

The present study was designated to evaluate semi-quantitative antileishmanial activity of alkaloidal extracts that were obtained from 1g of different parts of Aspidosperma ramiflorum (leaves, roots, seeds, and stem barks). Alkaloidal extracts of barks and leaves presented a good activity against the extracellular form (promastigotes) of Leishmania (L.) amazonensis. It is known that compounds responsible for the antileishmanial activity in the alkaloidal extracts from A. ramiflorum are the monoterpenoid indole alkaloids ramiflorine A and ramiflorine B, therefore extracts obtained from different plant parts were analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in order to evidence the presence of these bioactive alkaloids. Based on these findings, alkaloidal extract from leaves was fractionated on preparative thin-layer chromatography in a bioassay-guided fractionation affording individual purified ramiflorines A and B. Both ramiflorines A and B showed significant activity against Leishmania (L.) amazonensis (LD(50) values of 18.5±6.5μg/ml and 12.63±5.52μg/ml, respectively). Our results are showing that alkaloidal extract from leaves is a promising alternative to the use of stem barks from A. ramiflorum.