A novel galacto-glycerolipid from Oxalis corniculata kills Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia.

ABSTRACT: Oxalis corniculata is a naturally occurring weed that has been used in traditional medicine for the cure of dysentery and diarrhea in India. One of the common causes of dysentery is due to infection by the protist pathogen Entamoeba histolytica. Bioactivity profiling of extracts from O. corniculata identified several compounds that showed antiamoebic activity in axenic cultures of E. histolytica. These were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and mass spectrometry as (i) Oc-1, a mixture of saturated fatty acids C₂₄ to C₂₈; (ii) Oc-2, a mixture of long-chain alcohols C₁₈ to C₂₈; and (iii) Oc-3, a single compound that was a galacto-glycerolipid (GGL). Of the different compounds that were obtained, the strongest antiamoebic activity was found in GGL. The addition of GGL to

SUBMITTER: Manna D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2976160 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature