Jatrorrhizine is an alkaloid that has been found in the Chinese herb C. chinensis and has diverse biological activities.1,2,3,4 It is active against P. falciparum (IC50s = 422 and 1,607 ng/ml for D-6 and W-2 clones, respectively) and E. histolytica (IC50 = 82.7 μM).1,2 Jatrorrhizine inhibits the growth of C8161 human melanoma cells in vitro (IC50 = 47.4 μM) and inhibits C8161 cell-mediated neovascularization in a Matrigel? plug assay in mice when administered at a dose of 50 μg/animal.3 It reduces serum levels of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in a high-fat diet-induced mouse model of hyperlipidemia when administered at doses of 20 and 100 mg/kg.4 Jatrorrhizine is also a metabolite of berberine .5
1.Vennerstrom, J.L., and Klayman, D.L.Protoberberine alkaloids as antimalarialsJ. Med. Chem.31(6)1084-1087(1988) 2.Wright, C.W., Marshall, S.J., Russell, P.F., et al.In vitro antiplasmodial, antiamoebic, and cytotoxic activities of some monomeric isoquinoline alkaloidsJ. Nat. Prod.63(12)1638-1640(2000) 3.Liu, R., Cao, Z., Pan, Y., et al.Jatrorrhizine hydrochloride inhibits the proliferation and neovascularization of C8161 metastatic melanoma cellsAnticancer Drugs24(7)667-676(2013) 4.Yang, W., She, L., Yu, K., et al.Jatrorrhizine hydrochloride attenuates hyperlipidemia in a high-fat diet-induced obesity mouse modelMol. Med. Rep.14(4)3277-3284(2016) 5.Zuo, F., Nakamura, N., Akao, T., et al.Pharmacokinetics of berberine and its main metabolites in conventional and pseudo germ-free rats determined by liquid chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometryDrug Metab. Dispos.34(12)2064-2072(2006)