Alkaloids from Chilean species of the genus Rhodophiala C. Presl (Amaryllidaceae) and their chemotaxonomic importance

Abstract

The family Amaryllidaceae is widely distributed from temperate to tropical regions. Amaryllidaceae species from the subfamily Amaryllidoideae can biosynthesize alkaloids with important physiological effects. Rhodophiala C. Presl is one of the native genera of Amaryllidoideae of Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. However, despite the diversity of this genus in Chile, their alkaloids have only been studied previously in one species of this country. The present work aims to analyze the alkaloid profiles and chemotaxonomically compare three other Chilean species of Rhodophiala: Rhodophiala bagnoldii (Herb.) Traub, Rhodophiala pratensis (Poepp.) Traub and Rhodophiala volckmannii Phil. Bulb extracts were analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and alkaloids were characterized according to retention time and fragmentation pattern. The skeleton type alkaloids detected were lycorine, crinine, galanthamine, homolycorine, tazettine and montanine. All analyzed species showed different alkaloid profiles, indicating these compounds can be used as a chemotaxonomic tool. Furthermore, the alkaloid types detected in this genus have multiple reported biological properties and these species can constitute new sources of important medicinal products.