Jaume Bastida

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at University of Barcelona

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids from the Amaryllidoideae subfamily exhibit broad pharmacological activities, including neuroprotection and anticancer effects. Galantham-ine is a key compound for Alzheimer's therapy. The Hippeastrum genus, particularly in Bolivia, offers significant potential for novel drug discovery, emphasising the need for conservation...

Diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites like human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), Chagas disease (CD), leishmaniasis, and malaria, are persistent health problems in developing countries that still demand for new drug development. The species of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily (Amaryllidaceae) represent a vast source of alkaloids with a wide range...

Hieronymiella peruviana, a recently described endemic species from southern Peru, belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family and is known for its diversity of alkaloids. Amaryllidoideae have been studied for their diverse biological activities, particularly for their properties in treating neurodegenerative diseases. This work examines the alkaloidal pro...

Hippeastrum papilio (Ravena) van Sheepen is a bulbous evergreen species and considered a potential new source of galanthamine. This natural compound approved by the FDA is used for the cognitive treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. To optimize the galanthamine yield from this species, it is necessary to study the effects of plant age and fertilization...

Narcissus L. is a renowned plant genus with a notable center of diversity and is primarily located in the Mediterranean region. These plants are widely recognized for their ornamental value, owing to the beauty of their flowers; nonetheless, they also hold pharmacological importance. In Europe, pharmaceutical companies usually use the bulbs of Narc...

Ecuador is an important center of biodiversity of the plant family Amaryllidaceae, specially the subfamily Amaryllidoideae, known as a source of important bioactive molecules. The aim of this study was to assess the chemical and biological potential of four different species of Amaryllidoideae collected in Ecuador: Urceolina formosa, Urceolina ruth...

The Sceletium -type alkaloids, known for their anxiolytic and antidepressant activities, have been recently found to be biosynthesized in Narcissus cv. Hawera, which is largely used as an ornamental plant. An alkaloid fraction enriched with Sceletium -type alkaloids from the plant has shown promising antidepressant and anxiolytic activities. In the...

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD). It is mainly caused by infection with the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite. In this study, part of an Ibero-American project of a CYTED network devoted to the use of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids as templates for the synthesis of new pharmaceuticals, we have performed a virtual...

The Amaryllidaceae family constitutes an interesting source of exclusive alkaloids with a broad spectrum of biological activity. Galanthamine, the most relevant one, has been commercialized for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms since 2001 due to its potential as an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. In vitro screenings ag...

The genus Clinanthus Herb. is found in the Andes Region (South America), mainly in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. These plants belong to the Amaryllidaceae family, specifically the Amaryllidoideae subfamily, which presents an exclusive group of alkaloids known as Amaryllidaceae alkaloids that show important structural diversity and pharmacological pro...

Skin cancer has high rates of mortality and therapeutic failure. In this study, to develop a multi-agent strategy for skin cancer management, the selective cytotoxicity of several alkaloid fractions and pure alkaloids isolated from Amaryllidaceae species was evaluated in melanoma cells. In addition, UVB-stimulated keratinocytes (HaCaT) were exposed...

Rationale: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is the most frequently applied technique for analysis of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids in plant extracts. These compounds, known for their potent bioactivities, are a distinctive chemotaxonomic feature of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily (Amaryllidaceae). The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids of homolycorine...

Background: Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, represents a health threat to around 20 million people worldwide. Side effects of benznidazole (Bzn) cause 15-20% of patients to discontinue their treatment. Evidence has increased in favor of the use of drug combinations to improve the efficacy and tolerance of the treatment. Natural p...

Main conclusion The polyploidization of Hippeastrum papilio influences its primary and secondary metabolism including the biosynthesis of bioactive alkaloids. Abstract Hippeastrum papilio is an ornamental plant that has advantages in comparison to the currently used plants for the extraction of galanthamine, a natural compound used for the cogniti...

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are secondary metabolites with interesting medicinal properties. Almost every Narcissus species can synthesize them and constitute an excellent source for their isolation and study. Several Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have shown acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities and are a promising tool for treating cholinergic disord...

Leishmaniasis is a worldwide infectious parasitic disease caused by different species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which are transmitted to animals and humans through the bite of insects of the Psychodidae family. In the present work, the antileishmanial activity of an alkaloid extract of the bulbs of Clinanthus milagroanthus S. Leiva & Mee...

Background: Hippeastrum species have a wide range of biological properties. In Argentina, this genus comprises ten widely distributed species. Purpose: To evaluate the antiparasitic and anticholinesterase activities and chemical profiles of seven Argentinean Hippeastrum species and determine the synergism between the major isolated alkaloid—montani...

Plant biodiversity is an important source of compounds with medicinal properties. The alkaloid galanthamine, first isolated from Galanthus woronowii (Amaryllidaceae), is approved by the FDA for the palliative treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease due to its acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity. Obtaining this active pharmaceu...

Abstract Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba are the causative agents of granulomatous encephalitis and keratitis, severe human infections. Bioactive compounds from plants are recognized as an alternative source for the development of new drugs. The Amaryllidaceae is a botanical family able to synthesize a very specific and consistent gro...

Natural products have always played a significant role in the search for new drugs. One of the most relevant alkaloid-containing plant groups is the Amaryllidaceae family, a source of exclusive structures with a wide variety of pharmacological activities. The aim of this work was to determine the alkaloid composition and biological potential of an...

Chagas disease is a devastating neglected disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which affects millions of people worldwide. The two anti-parasitic drugs available, nifurtimox and benznidazole, have a good efficacy against the acute stage of the infection. But this is short, usually asymptomatic and often goes undiagnosed. Access to trea...

Zephyranthes carinata Herb., a specie of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily, has been reported to have inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase. However, scientific evidence related to their bioactive alkaloids has been lacking. Thus, this study describes the isolation of the alkaloids of this plant, and their inhibition of the enzymes acetylcho...

Background Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects over six million people worldwide, mainly in Latin American countries. Currently available drugs have variable efficacy in the chronic phase and significant side effects, so there is an urgent need for safer chemotherapeutic treatments. Natural products provide privileged...

Zephyranthes (Amaryllidaceae) is a taxonomically complex genus due to the frequent overlap of interspecific morphological variation. In Mexico, Z. alba and Z. fosteri are herbaceous plants that, when distributed in sympatry, generate individuals with complex patterns of morphological variation, leading to taxonomic confusion. Therefore, it is neces...

Galanthamine is a natural compound used for the treatment of Alhzeimer’s disease. Currently, it is extracted at industrial scale from Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. Carlton, Lycoris radiata and Leucojum aestivum. Hippeastrum papilio is an ornamental plant which shows advantages in comparison to the currently used plants for galanthamine extraction....

The subfamily Amaryllidoideae, Amaryllidaceae, presents an exclusive group of structures known as Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, which have a broad spectrum of biological activities. These plants are classified into 59 genera, including Hippeastrum Herb., which comprises approximately 60 species distributed mainly in South America, being widely used as...

Natural products are one of the main sources for developing new drugs. The alkaloids obtained from the plant family Amaryllidaceae have interesting structures and biological activities, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibition potential, which is one of the mechanisms used for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Herein we repor...

The AChE inhibitory activity of alkaloid extracts and compounds has been in the focus of research on the plants of Amaryllidoideae subfamily since the approval of galanthamine in 2001 by FDA for treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. A small fraction of the huge biodiversity of the plants producing Amaryllidaceae alkaloids has been stud...

Introduction: The amaryllidaceae family is characterized by presenting alkaloids with powerful pharmacological activities, including antiprotozoal activity. The aim of the present work was to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the in vitro antiplasmodial activity of the total alkaloids of the bulbs of two amaryllidaceae species from no...

Background Chagas disease is a neglected zoonosis caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi . It affects over six million people, mostly in Latin America. Drugs available to treat T. cruzi infection have associated toxicity and questionable efficacy at the chronic stage. Hence, the discovery of more effective and safer drugs is an unmet medical need...

Rationale: Narcissus cv. Hawera has been found to biosynthesize some Sceletium-type alkaloids with antidepressant and anxiolytic activities. This ornamental plant has been poorly studied as a source of bioactive alkaloids including some contraversive reports on in vitro and intact plants. Here, a detailed GC-MS characterization of its alkaloid fra...

The Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (Booklet of Indian Medicinal Plants) is the first book of medicinal plants written in the American continent. It was first published in 1939 as 'An Aztec Herbal'. One of the depicted plants is Huetzcanixochitl (laughing flower) interpreted as Zephyranthes fosteri (Amaryllidaceae). No chemical or pharmaco...

The search for novel bioactive compounds and the identification of known ones in the plant kingdom is a challenge for the scientists working in different fields of plant science. In the recent years, mass spectrometry is the most frequently applied method for analysis of complex mixtures of plant metabolites. Twenty two alkaloids of different lycor...

Plants in the Amaryllidaceae family synthesize a diversity of bioactive alkaloids. Some of these plant species are not abundant and have a low natural multiplication rate. The aims of this work were the alkaloids analysis of a Habranthus cardenasianus bulbs extract, the evaluation of its inhibitory activity against cholinesterases, and to test seve...

Hippeastrum puniceum is a species that belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. A particular characteristic of this family is the consistent and very specific presence of isoquinoline alkaloids, which have demonstrated a wide range of biological activities such as antioxidant, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory a...

The present work focused on the chemical study of the main alkaloid component in Brazilian indigenous Amaryllidaceae species Hippeastrum puniceum (Lam.) Kuntze. The strategy applied was based on a distinct partitioning process and chromatographic-purification steps using the crude methanolic extract as the starting material. In this way, the glycos...

Alzheimer's disease is considered the most common cause of dementia and, in an increasingly aging population worldwide, the quest for treatment is a priority. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are of main interest because of their cholinesterase inhibition potential, which is the main palliative treatment available for this disease. We evaluated the alkaloi...

Edited by JJ Nair A B S T R A C T Two new 5,10b-ethanophenanthridine bridge alkaloids, 3-O-methyl−epi−vittatine, 1, and crouchinine, 2, (2R)-7-hydroxyflavan, 3, and a novel ceramide, brunsceramide, were isolated from the bulbs of Brunsvigia natalensis. (2R)-7-Hydroxyflavan showed total growth inhibition in the 55−60 ppm range against the mel-anoma...

The phytochemistry of both bulbs and seeds of the ethnomedicinal Crinum stuhlmannii subsp. delagoense (Amaryllidaceae) was studied, sourced from a single location simultaneously. Eight alkaloids, including two previously unreported ones, N-methyl-haemanthamide (nivanine), and N-methyl-ent-delagoenine, were isolated along with lycorine, 8,9-methylen...

In vitro cultures from Narcissus pallidulus and Narcissus cv. Hawera were initiated on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and NAA. High multiplication rates were obtained on MS medium supplemented with 6 mg/L BAP and 0.1 mg/L NAA. Callus was induced on MS medium supplemented with 6 mg/L BAP and 2 mg/L NAA. Cultivation of th...

The phytochemical study of Hippeastrum goianum led to the identification of 13 compounds by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Compounds 7-demethoxy-9-O-methylhostasine (1) and 7-deoxi-trans-dihydronarciclasine (2) had their absolute configurations determined by vibrational circular dichroism...

Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that affects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side effects and limited efficacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diversity...

The chemical structures appear incorrectly in the original publication of this article. They appear correctly here.

Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that affects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side effects and limited efficacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diversity...

It is estimated that 50 million people in the world live with dementia, 60-70% of whom suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). Different factors are involved in the development of AD, including a reduction in the cholinergic neurotransmission level. The Amaryllidaceae plant family contains an exclusive, large, and still understudied alkaloid group ch...

Rhodophiala bifida (Herb.) Traub, Amaryllidaceae, is a species native to South America known to produce alkaloids with potential pharmacological uses such as montanine, which has anti-inflammatory potential. R. bifida could be applied as a natural source of montanine. It is important to understand the genetic diversity of this species in order to a...

Rhodophiala bifida (Herb.) Traub, Amaryllidaceae, is a species native to South America known to produce alkaloids with potential pharmacological uses such as montanine, which has anti-inflammatory potential. R. bifida could be applied as a natural source of montanine. It is important to understand the genetic diversity of this species in order to a...

It is estimated that 50 million people in the world live with dementia, 60–70% of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Different factors are involved in the development of AD, including a reduction in the cholinergic neurotransmission level. The Amaryllidaceae plant family contains an exclusive, large, and still understudied alkaloid group ch...

The Amaryllidaceae family is widely distributed in different regions of the neotropics and temperate areas of the world. Species of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae are unique in producing the alkaloid galanthamine, which inhibits the action of acetylcholinesterase and is used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In Perú, 15 genera and 68 species...

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are a particular group of alkaloids exclusive to the Amarylloideae subfamily. Important from a biological and pharmacological point of view, they have antiparasitic, antiviral and antitumoral activities. Notably, galanthamine has been approved by the FDA as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitory drug for the treatment of Alzhei...

The Amaryllidaceae family is distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical areas but also in temperate zones. In Venezuela, there are 6 genera and 13 species distributed around the country. This family is characterized by its ability to biosynthesize alkaloids with an isoquinoline type structure. In addition, a number of investigations have reveal...

Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that affects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side effects and limited efficacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diversity...

Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that affects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side effects and limited efficacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diversity...

Background: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease that affects ~7 million people worldwide. Development of new drugs to treat the infection remains a priority since those currently available have frequent side effects and limited efficacy at the chronic stage. Natural products provide a pool of diversity...

The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are a distinctive chemotaxonomic feature of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the family Amaryllidaceae, which consists of 59 genera and >800 species distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. Since the first isolation, ca. 140 ago, >600 structurally diverse Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have been reported from...

The pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is linked with different biomarkers, although it is thought to be mainly caused by the generation of reactive oxygen species. Therefore new treatment strategies to ameliorate AD are focusing on the area of oxidative neural cell injury. The treatment of many diseases is highly dependent on natural product...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The subfamily Amaryllidoideae within of the Amaryllidaceae family has an exclusive group of compounds called Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. Galanthamine, the most known Amaryllidaceae alkaloid, is approved by the FDA as an inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer Disease (AD). However, butyrylcholines...

Skin cancer has evolved as the most common malignant disease, accounting for 4.5% of all new cancer cases. Melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer type, develops in melanocytes and has high mortality rates due to its biological features and frequent failures of therapeutic alternatives. On the other hand, non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC), the mos...

A combined phytochemical, crystallographic and biological study of Worsleya procera roots was performed. Fifteen alkaloids were identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and seven of them were isolated. The structures of the alkaloids were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, and a detailed crystallographic study of tazettine was c...

Rhodophiala bifida (R. bifida) is a representative of the Amaryllidaceae plant family and is rich in montanine, an alkaloid with high pharmaceutical potential. Despite the interest in these compounds, many steps of the biosynthetic pathway have not been elucidated. In this study, we identified the alkaloids produced in different organs of R. bifida...

Plants of the Amaryllidaceae family are well‐known (not only) for their ornamental value but also for the alkaloids they produce. In this report, the first phytochemical study of Clinanthus genus was carried out. The chemical composition of alkaloid fractions from Clinanthus microstephus was analyzed by GC‐MS and NMR. Seven known compounds belongin...

Background: Amaryllidaceae plants are known to be a great source of alkaloids, which are considered an extensive group of compounds encompassing a wide range of biological activity. The remarkable cytotoxic activity observed to the most of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids derivatives have prompt the chemical and biological investigations in unexplored spec...

Amaryllidaceae plants are the commercial source of galanthamine, an alkaloid approved for the clinical treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The chemistry and bioactivity of Chilean representatives of Rhodophiala genus from the family of Amaryllidaceae have not been widely studied so far. Ten collections of five different Chilean Rhodophiala were analy...

Natural products play an important role in the development of new drugs. In this context, the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have attracted considerable attention in view of their unique structural features and various biological activities. In this study, twenty-three alkaloids were identified from Crinum amabile by GC-MS and two new structures (augusti...

Polyamines conjugated with hydroxycinnamic acids are phenolic compounds, which are widespread in the plant kingdom playing important roles in development and defence responses. This chapter describes the methodology employed to analyze these phenolamides in plant material by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spect...

The Amaryllidaceae family has proven to be a rich source of active compounds, which are characterized by unique skeleton arrangements and a broad spectrum of biological activities. The aim of this work was to perform the first detailed study of the alkaloid constituents of Hippeastrum reticulatum (Amaryllidaceae) and to determine the anti-parasitol...

Background: In Argentina, the Amaryllidaceae family (59 species) comprises a wide variety of genera, only a few species have been investigated as a potential source of cholinesterases inhibitors to treat Alzheimer disease (AD). Purpose: To study the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities of the basic d...

The infection caused by Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common but overlooked non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide. Treatment relies on one class of drugs, the 5-nitroimidazoles, but resistance is widespread. New drugs are urgently needed. We reported the effect of crude and purified saponin fractions of Manilkara rufula against Trich...

Quantification of parasite viability from the flow cytometry assay. (PDF)

Confocal microscopy of T. vaginalis stained with 5.0 μg/mL DAPI and 1.0 μM FLUTAX-2. Control showing classical teardrop shape and four anterior flagella and axostyle (A); H100-treated trophozoites after 4 (B) and 24 h (C) demonstrating striking membrane alterations and clusters formation. Magnification 60x. (PDF)

Chemical structure of Mi-saponin C (1) isolated and the main HMBC correlations. (PDF)

HMBC spectrum of saponin 1 (CD3OD, 500 MHz). (PDF)

HR-ESI MS of saponin 1 (negative ion mode). (PDF)

MALDI-MS of fractions 27 (F27), 31 (F31), 33 (F33) and 35 (F35) (positive ion mode). (PDF)

1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic data of saponin 1 (500 MHz, CD3OD). (PDF)

HMQC spectrum of saponin 1 (CD3OD, 500 MHz). (PDF)

Chemical structure elucidation of the isolated saponin 1. (PDF)

Identification of constituents from the H100 fraction by LC-MS and MALDI-MS. (PDF)

Parasite viability determination using FDA-PI cytometry. Dot plots of parasite viability treated or untreated with H100 label with FDA-PI. (PDF)

LC-ESI MS of fraction H100 (negative ion mode). (PDF)

MALDI-MS of fractions 10 (F10) and 113 (F113) (positive ion mode). (PDF)

The plant family Amaryllidaceae is well-known for its unique alkaloid constituents, which exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Its representative, Amaryllis belladonna, has a geographical distribution covering mainly southern Africa, where it has significant usage in the traditional medicine of the native people. In this study, A. bellado...

Amaryllidaceae plants are known for their ornamental flowers all over the word, but they also have a medicinal value owing to their exclusive group of alkaloids. The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have a wide range of important biological activities, notably anti-tumoral, anti-parasitic, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition. This review focuses on the che...

The Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are a group of isoquinoline alkaloids with a distinct array of structural diversity. These compounds have attracted widespread attention due to their manifold biological properties, of which their significance in motor neuron disease through the clinical representative galanthamine is most striking. The cytotoxic potent...

Tritrichomonas foetus infects the bovine urogenital tract, causing bovine trichomoniasis. Significant economic losses may occur due to infertility and abortion among cattle. Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis; the most common but overlooked non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide. Human and bovine trichomoniasis...

Three new alkaloids, oxoincartine, 3,11-O-diacetyl-9-O-demethylmaritidine and 11-O-acetyl-9-Odemethylmaritidine together with seven known compounds namely, incartine, galanthamine, galanthine, 9-O-methylpseudolycorine, N,O-dimethylnorbelladine, hordenine and vittatine were isolated from Galanthus fosteri Baker (Amaryllidaceae). Their structures wer...