QUATERNARY AMMONIUM SALTS OF NATURAL POLYSACCHARIDES POSSESSING HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC ACTIVITY

Abstract: Quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides possessing hypocholesterolemic activity, of the following general formula: in which A represents the monomer unit of a natural polysaccha­ ride, m is a whole number between 100 and 1000, n is a whole number between 0 and 10, B is O or S or NH or NR' where R' is an acyl and preferably an acetyl, R is a linear alkyl radical of 1-4 carbon atoms, and X (-) is an anion such as Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻, HSO₄⁻, CH₃O-SO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ or the negative ion of a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid. Said salts are prepared by reacting a pretreated natural polysac­ charide with a quaternary ammonium salt functionalised at one of its ends with an epoxy group.

Description: This invention relates to quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides, possessing hypocholesterolemic activity. More particularly, the invention relates to water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of polysaccharides of vegetable origin, of advantageous use in human therapy as hypocholesterolemic agents, to the process for their production, and to the relative pharmaceutical compositions. The polysaccharide ammonium salts according to the present invention have the following general formula: in which A represents the monomer unit of a natural polysaccha­ ride, m is a whole number between 100 and 1000, n is a whole number between 0 and 10, B is O or S or NH or NR′ where R′ is an acyl and preferably an acetyl, R is a linear alkyl radical of 1-4 carbon atoms, and X (-) is Cl⁻, Br ⁻, I⁻, HSO₄⁻, or CH₃O-SO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ or the negative ion of a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid. Generally, known products possessing hypocholesterolemic activity are cross-linked synthetic polymer derivatives, for example of polystyrene. These polymers are insoluble in water and therefore their availability is extremely low, and moreover they present undesirable side effects. Of the natural polymers, only suitably treated chitosan is used as a product with hypocholesterolemic activity. However, in the known art (M. Sugano, T. Fujikawa et al., Am. J. of Clinical Nutrition, 33, April 1980, pp. 787, 793), the positive charges on the polysaccharide macromolecules of the chitosan are obtained by protonising the amino group, so that under the pH conditions of the intestinal tract (pH 7.2) the proton is almost completely removed as the pKa of chitosan is 6.3. For this reason, the capacity of the polymer to interact with bile salts is very low. In one of our previous patents (USA patent 4,436,731) the chitosan quaternisation reaction is conducted directly on the amino group present in the amino-glucoside ring, and the positive charge remains present under all pH and ionic force conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract, however its closeness to the amino­ glucoside ring creates accessibility problems for the bile salt molecules. A further known polymer containing quaternary ammonium groups and used as a hypocholesterolemic agent is obtained from dextran, as described for example in European patent application 66135. Because of the extracelllular bacterial origin of dextran, this product is not very stable in the presence of the intestinal bacterial flora, and can therefore be easily broken down and assimilated. The break-down of the dextran molecules, having a side-chain containing nitrogenated groups, can also give rise to products with a certain degree of toxicity, and is facilitated by the strongly acid environment of the stomach. Both the assimilability and the potential toxicity of break-down products of dextran polymers containing quaternary ammonium groups make their use as hypocholesterolemic agents problematic. We have now discovered new water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides, in which the positive charge is at a suitable distance from the polysaccharide macromolecule, on a branch which is easily available for interaction with the bile salt molecules. Said salts, besides exercising a very intense hypocholesterolemic activity, are substantially free from toxicity on oral adminis­ tration and are also stable at the pH values corresponding to those existing in the human stomach. The quaternary ammonium salts of polysaccharides possessing hypocholesterolemic activity according to the present invention are characterised by being of formula (I) with a degree of substitution of between 0.5 and 2. The term "degree of substitution" signifies the ratio of the number of moles of side chain containing the quaternary ammonium group to the number of monomer units of the polysaccharide. The preparation process is characterised by reacting a pretreated natural polysaccharide with a quaternary ammonium salt functionalised at one of its ends with an epoxy group able to react with nucleophilic groups of OH or SH or NH₂ or NHR type present in the polysaccharide molecule and where R is a linear alkyl radical containing 1-10 carbon atoms, in a reaction medium consisting of a mixed solvent. These and further characteristics, both relative to the process for preparing the quaternary salts according to the invention and relative to their therapeutic applications, will be more apparent from the description given hereinafter of preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of non-limiting example. The polysaccharides preferably used are tragacanth, guar and carob gums, and cellulose, tamarind and chitosan. Said polysaccharides are among the most representative of those available, and can be either water-insoluble such as cellulose or chitosan, or water-soluble such as guar gum and carob gum. Typically, according to the present invention, the natural polysaccharide to be reacted with the quaternary ammonium salt functionalised with the epoxy group is subjected to pretreatment with an acid, with a base or with a solvent in order to adjust its molecular weight to within the reqired range, and to increase its reactivity. Water-insoluble polysaccharides are either pretreated by acid hydrolysis to obtain polymers with a suitable molecular weight of between 50,000 and 300,000, or are dissolved in suitable solvents (for example cellulose is dissolved in cupriethylenediamine and chitosan is dissolved in formic acid) and are then precipitated in an aqueous environment at pH 10-12 to obtain an almost amorphous polymer able to also react in the heterogeneous phase. Water-soluble polysaccharides are pretreated with sodium hydroxide solutions of 10-30% concentration by weight, and are then dispersed in an organic solvent of for example the dioxane, acetone, ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol type, to obtain NaOH-­ polysaccharide complexes which are very reactive towards the epoxy compounds. The reaction between the polysaccharide and epoxy compound is conducted in a solvent under agitation at a temperature of between 40°C and 100°C for a time of between 4 and 16 hours, with a molar ratio of polysaccharide to epoxy compound of between 1:1 and 1:6 and a weight ratio of polysaccharide to reaction medium of between 1:5 and 1:35. The degree of substitution is between 0.5 and 2. The following examples and tables, relative respectively to the process for preparing compounds of general formula (I) and to their therapeutic applications, are given hereinafter for non-­ limiting illustrative purposes. EXAMPLE 1 100 g of commercial chitosan with a 20% degree of acetylation are dissolved in 5 litres of 0.1 M formic acid and the solution heated under reflux for 24 hours. The solution is then cooled and precipitated by treating with 10 litres of 5 N NaOH, the precipitate is filtered off, washed with isopropyl alcohol until its H₂O content is 30%, and is then dispersed in 600 ml of isopropyl alcohol. The system is kept under agitation for 40 minutes and 262 g of glycidyltrimethyl ammonium chloride are then added, and the mixture is heated to 80°C for 6 hours. The mixture is cooled and petroleum ether is added, the precipitate is filtered off, washed repeatedly with acetone and then dried under vacuum to obtain 255 g of dry product. The degree of substitution, determined by ¹H-NMR, is 1.5 and the water-solubility of the product is 12% by weight at 25°C. EXAMPLE 2 100 g of powdered guar gum are dispersed in 2 litres of 20 wt% NaOH solution, and the system kept under agitation at ambient temperature for 1 hour. The system is then dispersed in 3 litres of dioxane, 95 g of glycidyltrimethyl ammonium chloride are added, and the mixture kept under agitation at 40°C for 24 hours. The product is then precipitated by treatment with acetone, is washed repeatedly with acetone and petroleum ether, and is finally dried under vacuum to obtain 250 g of dry product. The degree of substitution, determined by ¹H-NMR, is 1.4 and the water-solubility is 15% by weight at 25°C. EXAMPLE 3 100 g of cellulose powder previously hydrolysed with 0.1 M HCl and swollen in 2000 ml of 0.5 M cupriethylenediamine at ambient temperature are regenerated in acetone. The cellulose is repeatedly washed in mixtures of water and acetone, and is then immersed in an 8 wt% solution of NaOH and then squeeze-dried and dispersed in 2 litres of 95% ethanol. 150 g of propyleneoxidetriethylammonium bromide are added and the mixture heated to 80°C for 24 hours. After cooling, the product is precipitated by treatment with petroleum ether, is filtered off, washed with acetone and then dried under vacuum. The degree of substitution, determined by ¹H-NMR, is 0.9 and the water-solubility 7% by weight at 25°C. Using the aforesaid mehtods, quaternary ammonium salts were prepared from powdered carob gum, tamarind and tragacanth. The products according to the invention were used in a series of pharmacological trials, the results of which are summarised in the following tables. For comparison purposes, the results are also given of trials carried out under the same conditions with cholestyramine, which is the most effective resin of hypocholes­ terolemic activity currently available. The following tests were used to demonstrate the "in vivo" hypocholesterolemic effect of the various resins: 1) Action on hypercholesterolemia induced in the rat and rabbit by a cholesterol-enriched diet 2) Action on the fecal excretion of bile acids in the dog. 1) To induce hypercholesterolemia in rats, the animals were kept under a Nath diet (Nath and coll., J. Nutrit. 67, 289, 1959) containing: Hypercholesterolemia was induced in the rabbits by administering 1 g/animal/day of cholesterol with a gastric probe. Sprague-Dawley rats with an average weight of 200 g and New Zealand rabbits weighing 3 kg were used, divided into groups of 10 animals each. All the animals were made hypercholesterolemic by means of the diet. One group remained untreated and served as the controls, whereas the other groups were treated with 0.5 g/kg of the various products under examination for 30 days. After 30 days of treatment all the animals were sacrificed and the total plasmatic cholesterol in the blood collected from the carotid arteries was determined (Pearson and coll., J. Chim. Endocrin. Metabolism 12, 1245, 1952). 2) In order to evaluate the fecal excretion of bile acids, 48 male beagle dogs of approximately 8 kg weight were used, divided into 12 groups of 4 animals each. All the animals were kept under diet and stalled under standard conditions, and with the exception of one group of control dogs all the other groups were given in addition to the diet 2 g/kg/day of one of the products under examination for 25 days. On the 26th day after the commencement of the trial, the feces of the dogs, which had been kept under fast for 12 hours in a metabolic cage, were subjected to bile acid determination (Grundy and coll., J. Lipid Res. 6, 397, 1965; Makita and coll., Ann. Biochem. 5, 523, 1963; Forman and coll., Clin. Chem. 14, 348, 1969). Tables 1 and 2 summarise the results obtained on the rats and rabbits made hypercholesterolemic by diet, and treated with the various indicated products. Table 3 shows the values of the bile acid excretions of dogs treated with 2 g/kg/day of the various compounds. The products according to the invention used in these trials are as follows: ET 1015 = product with guar gum substrate ET 1016 = product with powdered carob gum substrate ET 1018 = product with cellulose substrate ET 1019 = product with tamarind substrate ET 1020 = product with chitosan substrate ET 1021 = product with tragacanth substrate. TABLE 1 Total serous cholesterol values in rats subjected to a Nath diet (Nath and coll., J. Nutrit. 67, 289, 1959) for 30 days and treated with the various products. TABLE 2 Total serous cholesterol values in rabbits subjected to a cholesterol-enriched diet for 30 days and treated with the various products. TABLE 3 Fecal bile acid excretion in dogs treated with the various products for 25 days. From the aforegoing tables it is clear that the quaternary ammonium salts of polysaccharides according to the present invention have greater hypocholesterolemic activity than cholestyramine both in rats and in rabbits subjected to a hypercholesterolemic diet. The results obtained for fecal excretion in the dog confirm the binding activity of the products according to the invention towards bile acids. In this respect, administering these products leads to large increases in the amount of bile acids excreted with the feces, to a considerably greater extent than with equivalent doses of cholestyramine.

Claims: Claims for the Contracting States: BE CH DE FR GB IT LI LU NL SE 1. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides possissing hypocholesterolemic activity, of the following general formula: in which A represents the monomer unit of a natural polysaccha­ ride, m is a whole number between 100 and 1000, n is a whole number between 0 and 10, B is O or S or NH or NR′ where R′ is an acyl and preferably an acteyl, R is a linear alkyl radical of 1-4 carbon atoms, and X (-) is Cl⁻ Br ⁻, I⁻, HSO₄⁻, CH₃O-SO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ or the negative ion of a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acide, and with a degree of subsitution of between 0.5 and 2 and a molecular weight of betweein 50,000 and 300,000. 2. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is tragacanth. 3. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is guar gum. 4. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is carob gum. 5. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is cellulose. 6. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural polysaccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is tamarind. 7. Water-soluble quaternary ammonium salts of natural poly­ saccharides as claimed in claim 1, wherein the natural polysac­ charide is chitosan. 8. A process for preparing quaternary ammonium salts of polysaccharides possessing hypocholesterolemic activity, of the following general formula: in which A represents the monomer unit of a natural polysaccha­ ride, m is a whole number between 100 and 1000, n is a whole number between 0 and 10, B is O or S or NH or NR′ where R′ is an acyl and preferably an acetyl, R is a linear alkyl radical of 1-4 carbon atoms, and X (-) is Cl⁻, Br ⁻, I⁻, HSO₄⁻, CH₃O-SO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ or the negative ion of a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid, and with a degree of substitution of between 0.5 and 2, characterised by reacting a pretreated natural polysaccharide with a quaternary ammonium salt functionalised at one of its ends with an epoxy group either pre-existing or formed in situ and able to react with nucleophilic groups of OH or SH or NH₂ or NHR type present in the polysaccharide molecule and where R has the aforesaid meaning, in a reaction medium consisting of a mixed solvent. 9. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides are tragacanth, guar gum, carob gum, cellulose, tamarind and chitosan. 10. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if insoluble in water, are previously hydrolysed in an acid environment to obtain polymers with a molecular weight of between 50,000 and 300 000. 11. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if insoluble in water, are previously activated by dissolving in a suitable solvent and then precipitating in an aqueous environment of pH between 10 and 12. 12. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if soluble in water, are previously activated by treatment with sodium hydroxide solutions of between 10 and 30% concentration by weight, and are then dispersed in an organic solvent such as dioxane, acetone, ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. 13. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said reaction is conducted under agitation at a temperature of between 40°C and 100°C for a time of between 4 and 16 hours. 14. A process as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said reaction is conducted using a molar ratio of polysaccharide to epoxy compound of between 1:1 and 1:6 and a weight ratio of polysaccharide to reaction medium of between 1:5 and 1:35. 15. Therapeutic compositions of hypocholesterolemic activity characterised by comprising a product of formula (I) as active principle. Claims for the Contracting State AT 1. A process for preparing quaternary ammonium salts of polysaccharides possessing hypocholesterolemic activity, of the following general formula: in which A represents the monomer unit of a natural polysaccha­ ride, m is a whole number between 100 and 1000, n is a whole number between 0 and 10, B is O or S or NH or NR′ where R′ is an acyl and preferably an acetyl, R is a linear alkyl radical of 1-4 carbon atoms, and X (-) is Cl⁻, Br ⁻, I⁻, HSO₄⁻, CH₃O-SO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ or the negative ion of a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid, and with a degree of substitution of between 0.5 and 2, characterised by reacting a pretreated natural polysaccharide with a quaternary ammonium salt funactionalised at one of its ends with an epoxy group either pre-existing or formed in situ and able to react with nucleophilic groups of OH or SH or NH₂ or NHR type present in the polysaccharide molecule and where R has the aforesaid meaning, in a reaction medium consisting of a mixed solvent. 2. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides are tragacanth, guar gum, carob gum, cellulose, tamarind and chitosan. 3. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if insoluble in water, are previously hydrolysed in an acid ennvironment to obtain polymers with a molecular weight of between 50,000 and 300,000. 4. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if insoluble in water, are previously activated by dissolving in a suitable solvent and then precipitating in an aqueous environment of pH between 10 and 12. 5. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said natural polysaccharides, if soluble in water, are previously activated by treatment with sodium hydroxide solutions of between 10 and 30% concentration by weight, and are then dispersed in an organic solvent such as dioxane, acetone, ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. 6. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said reaction is conducted under agitation at a temperature of between 40°C and 100°C for a time of between 4 and 16 hours. 7 . A process as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said reaction is conducted using a molar ratio of polysaccaride to epoxy compound of between 1:1 and 1:6 and a weight ratio of polysaccharide to reaction medium of between 1:5 aid 1:35.

Inventors: CONTI, FRANCO
Applicants: ETABLISSEMENT TEXCONTOR
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A61K31
IPC codes: C08B15, C08B37, C08B11, A61P9, A61P3, A61K31