Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Sesamum alatum Thonn.

In the course of the investigation of plants used in traditional medicine in Niger, Sesamum alatum Thonn. (Pedaliaceae) was selected. This plant is traditionally used against women's sterility, diarrhea and fever [1]. A 20 µg/mL dichloromethane root extract showed a complete inhibition of multiple myeloma cancer stem cells (MM-CSCs) growth and a 90% inhibition of NF-κB. It also showed an inhibition > 80% at 10 µg/mL of the parasites Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Very few studies on Sesamum alatum have been reported so far [2]. A bioassay-guided fractionation of the extract was performed using a reverse phase semi-prep HPLC system and afforded 28 fractions. At 20 µg/mL, sixteen fractions exhibited an inhibition of MM-CSCs growth > 90% and six showed an inhibition of NF-κB > 50%. Three fractions were selected for further purification. The major compounds were isolated and identified as anthrasesamone A and hydroxysesamone. These compounds are reported for the first time in the roots of Sesamum alatum and their biological activity is under investigation.

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[1] Eklu-Natey RD, Balet A. Pharmacopée africaine, Dictionnaire et monografie multilingues du potentiel médical des plantes africaines, Editions d'en bas: Genève; 2012: 2.

[2] Potterat O, Hostettmann K, Stoeckli-Evans H, Saadou M. Helv Chim Acta 1992; 75: 833 – 841.