A process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp and its use for the preparation of a medicament for inducing labour or abortion

Abstract: The invention provides a process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. process comprising the steps (a) preparing crude methanol extract of Zoanthus sp., (b) subjecting the crude methanol extract to fractionation using petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-butanol and mixtures thereof to yield a fraction, (c) subjecting the active fraction to flash chromatography over silica gel to obtain partially purified active compound, and (d) subjecting the active subfraction obtained from step (c) above to gel permeation chromatography to obtain the active pure compound. The invention also concerns the use of 2-deoxy ecdysterone for the preparation of a medicament for the induction of labour or the interruption of pregnancy.

Description: FIELD The present invention relates to a process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. useful as an oxytocic agent. BACKGROUND The animal Zoanthus sp is a marine invertebrate belonging to the Phylum Coelenterata, class Anthozoa and order Zoanthidea. Several bioactive compounds have been isolated from this source. Most important among them is the highly toxic palytoxin (LD 50 in mice= 0.15 mg/Kg, Moore R E and Scheuer P J, 1971, Science, 172:495), which is also an active cardiovascular agent. Other compounds reported from this group of animals are: homopalytoxin, bishomopalytoxin, neopalytoxin, deoxypalytoxin (Quinn R.J in Bioorganic Marine Chemistry, Vol 2, 1988, Edited by P J Scheuer, pp 25-27), two pyrazine derivatives: palythazine and isopalythazine, and a group of nitrogen pigments, paragracine I-VII (Bakus G J, Targett N M and Schulte B, 1986, J Chem Ecol , Vol 12:951-987), 3-norpseudozoanthoxanthin (Cimino G, De Stefano S, Fenical W, Lin G H Y, Wing R M, Radick P and Sima J J, J Am Chem Soc , 1973, 95:4049) besides the alkaloids, zoanthamine, zoanthenamine and zoanthamide (Rao C B, Anjaneyulu A S R, Sarma N S, Venkateswarlu Y, Rosser R M, Faulkner D J,. 1985. J Org Chem , 50:3757-3760). Ecdysones and ecdysterones are moulting hormones found in crustaceans and insects (D J Tighe-Ford, 1977. Hormonal aspects of Barnacle antifouling research. In Marine Natural Products Chemistry, D J Faulkner and W H Fenical (eds), Plenum Press, 383). The zoanthid Gerardia savaglia was found to contain large quantities of the crustacean molting hormone, ecdysterone (Sturaro A, Guerriero A, De Clauser R and Pietra F, Experientia , 1982, 38:1184-1185). The related compounds, Palythoalones A and B (ecdysteroids) from the marine zoanthid Palythoa australiae have recently been isolated. (Shigemori H; Sato Y; Kagata T; Kobayashi J, 1999. Palythoalones A and B, new ecdysteroids from the marine zoanthid Palythoa australiae. J. Nat. Prods , 62(2):373). The compound, 2-deoxy ecdysterone also known as 2-deoxy β-ecdysone or 2-deoxy-20-hydroxy ecdysone, was found to be effective in inducing contractions in the guinea pig uterus It was found that the percentage of active component oxytocin contained in 50µg/ml of compound amounts to 80.8%, that at 100µg/ml to 92.3% which further increases to 118.0% at concentration of 200µg/ml. Uterine contractions produced by the compound were also compared with the standard contraction produced by prostaglandin (PGF 2α ). It was observed that for the active compound, the percentage of active component PGF 2α contained in 50 µg/ml of compound amounts to 69.4%, that at 100 µg/ml to 82.3% which further increases to 114.1% at concentration of 200 µg/ml. Possible use of the compound in obstetrics could be to induce or augment labour, to control post partum uterine atony and hemorrhage, to cause uterine contraction after cesarean section or during uterine surgery or to induce therapeutic abortion. Agents that stimulate the pregnant uterus and are of importance in obstetrics are: 1- Oxytocics: Oxytocin and ergometrine 2- Prostaglandin E and F type compounds Oxytocin causes regular coordinated uterine contractions each followed by relaxation. It is the drug of choice used to induce or augment labour when the uterine muscle is not functioning adequately (Rang H.P., Dale M.M; Ritter J.M., Pharmacology, third edition, pp 470, Churchill Livingstone, 1995). It is particularly used in those cases such as diabetes, isoimmunisation, hypertensive states, intrauterine growth retardation, placental insufficiency in which continuation of pregnancy is considered to be more harmful to the mother and /or foetus than the risks of delivery or pharmacological induction (Andrew J. Nichols; Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., Uterine Pharmacology, in Principles of Pharmacology. Basic Concepts and Clinical Applications. Ed. Paul L. Munson. pp 202, 1995). Oxytocin may also be used in the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage resulting from uterine atony (Andrew J. Nichols; Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., Uterine Pharmacology, in Principles of Pharmacology. Basic Concepts and Clinical Applications. Ed. Paul L. Munson. pp 202, 1995). Historically the ergot alkaloids were the first agents used to initiate or accelerate parturition. In modern obstetrics, oxytocin is used for this function and ergot alkaloids are most often used for treatment of postpartum hemorrhage (Cornelia R. Graves, Agents that cause contraction or relaxation of the uterus, in Goodman and Gilman's, The Pharmacological basis of therapeutics. Eds. Perry B. Molinoff and Raymond W. Ruddon, pp. 939, 1996). Specific receptors for oxytocin in human myometrium have been identified and differences in receptor density at various stages of labour also have been noted (Bossmar T; Akerlund M; Fantoni G; Szamatowicz J; Melin P; and Maggi M., Receptors for and myometrial responses to oxytocin and vasopressin in preterm and term human pregnancy: effects of the oxytocin antagonist atosiban. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1994, 171: 1634-1642, 1994). Oxytocin has dual effects on the uterus. It regulates the contractile properties of myometrial cells and elicits prostaglandin production by endometrial/decidual cells. Prostaglandins currently used in obstetrical practice include PGE 2 , PGF 2α and the synthetic derivative 15-methyl PGF 2α . More recently, the PGE 1 analog, misoprostol, has been under clinical investigation for use as an abortifacient and cervical ripening. The major use of PGE 2 (dinoprostone, Prostin E 2 ) and 15-methyl PGF 2α (Carboprost, Hemabate) currently approved in the U.S.A is for the performance of mid-trimester abortions. 15-Methyl PGF 2α is also used as an alternative to ergonovine or oxytocin in the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. In addition, numerous studies have supported the beneficial effect of locally applied PGE 2 as a cervical ripening agent (Buchanam D; Macer J and Yonekura M.L., Cervical Ripening with Prostaglandin E 2 Vaginal Suppositories. Obstet. Gynecol. 1984, 63:659-663). Prostaglandins E 2 and F 2α , presently used for clinical purposes are not very stable. For example, radiolabelled PGE 2 , when injected into human volunteers, about 50% of the radioactivity is excreted in the urine within 5 hours. The corresponding value for PGF 2α is around 90% (W P Collins; E A Willman, 1978. Prostaglandins and uterine functions, In Topics in hormone chemistry, W R Butt (eds), Ellis Horwood Publishers, 183). At least 15 compounds have been identified in both the studies by mass spectrometry. Thin layer chromatography of ecdysteroids is described in Journal of Chromatography , 1985, 318 , 373-377. While the artlcie describes resolution of a mixture of ecdysteroids by thin layer chromatography, It does not describe the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from a very complex mixture of components of Zoanthus sp. according to the specific four-step process of the present invention. An article in Experienta , 1982, 38(10) , 1184-5, describes isolation of ecdysterone from the zoanthid Gerardia savaglia , using reverse phase HPLC. The article does not suggest the four-step process of the present invention, which implements a sequential flash chromatography on silica gel followed by gel permeation chromatography. The abstract of Khim.-Farm. Zh ., 1989, 23(4), 441-5 (Russian), relates to the anti-ulcer activity of phyto ecdysteroids, wherein the phytoecdysteroids were tested for anti-ulcer activity in several rat models of gastric ulcer. The most potent activity was observed with ecdysterone and turkesterone, both of which increased the RNA and DNA content of gastric tissues. Structure activity relations are discussed therein. OBJECTS An objective of the present investigation is to provide a process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. Another objective of the investigation is to find out the unknown property of the compound, 2-deoxy ecydsterone, isolated and purified from Zoanthus sp in inducting uterus contractions. Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a stable bioactive compound which may be useful in obstetrics, to induce or augment labour, to control postpartum uterine atony and hemorrhage, to cause uterine contraction after cesarean section or during uterine surgery or to induce therapeutic abortion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present investigation undertaken by the inventors has led to the development and standardization of a facile method for the isolation and purification of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from a new source, Zoanthus sp. Thus, the invention relates to a process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. comprising the successive steps of: a) preparing a crude methanol extract of Zoanthus sp., b) subjecting the crude methanol extract to at least one fractionation with at least one of an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-butanol and mixtures thereof to yield at least one active solvent fraction, c) subjecting the at least one active solvent fraction to flash chromatography over silica gel to obtain a partially purified active sub-fraction, and d) subjecting the active sub-fraction obtained from step (c) above to gel permeation chromatography to obtain an essentially pure compound identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone. Preferred embodiments of this process are set forth in the sub-processing claims, which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. In the preferred embodiment, the invention process provides isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. using flash chromatography over silica gel and gel permeation chromatography over Sephadex® LH-20. The invention provides this compound, a novel biomedical use of which is as a potent oxytocic agent. The invention has established that this compound is more potent than the standard oxytocin and PGF 2α at the concentration of 200 µg/ml. The compound, 2-deoxy ecdysterone, is also very stable and soluble in aqueous solvents and may have wider therapeutical applications. According to a particular embodiment, the present invention provides a process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp., said process comprising the steps of: a) preparing a crude methanol extract of Zoanthus sp. by conventional methods, b) subjecting the crude methanol extract to at least one fractionation with at least one organic solvent selected from petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-butanol and mixtures thereof to yield at least one active solvent fraction, c) subjecting the at least one active fraction to flash chromatography over silica gel (particle size 125-250 µm) ((60-120 mesh)) using gradient acetone-petroleum ether (30:70 to 100:0) as eluent to obtain a partially purified active sub-fraction, and d) subjecting the active sub-fraction obtained from step (c) above to gel permeation chromatography over Sephadex® LH-20 using acetone as eluent to obtain the active pure compound. In an embodiment, the active pure compound is identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone from its IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and mass spectral data. In another embodiment, the compound 2-deoxy ecdysterone is active up to 80.8, 92.3 and 118.0 % at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml respectively as compared to standard oxytocin. In yet another embodiment, the compound 2-deoxy ecdysterone is active up to 69.4, 82.3 and 114.1 % at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml respectively as compared to standard PGF 2α . The compound may have the following potential uses in obstetrics to induce or augment labour, to control postpartum uterine atony and haemorrhage, to cause uterine contraction after caesarean section or during uterine surgery or to induce therapeutic abortion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS In the drawing accompanying this specification, Figure 1 represents the bioassay-guided fractionation followed for purification of the compound 2-deoxy ecdysterone from the crude chloroform fraction of the methanol extract of Zoanthus sp. In the accompanying Figure 2, the IR spectrum is represented of the white solid isolated from the chloroform fraction of Zoanthus sp. In the accompanying Figure 3, the 1 H NMR spectrum is represented of the compound indicating its structure as a polyhydroxy sterol derivative. In the accompanying Figure 4, the 13 C NMR spectrum is represented of the compound indicating its structure as 2-deoxy ecdysterone. In the accompanying Figure 5, the structure of the purified compound, 2-deoxy ecdysterone, is represented. In the accompanying Figure 6, the kymograph is represented that was obtained during the testing of the compound for its oxytocic property on the isolated guinea-pig uterus. The invention is further explained with the help of the following examples and should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. Example I Zoanthus sp collected from Anjuna beach (Goa) was used for the invention. The animals were carefully scrapped from the intertidal rocks during the low tide period using a metal spatula. About 2 kg wet weight of the specimens were used for the study. The specimens were thoroughly washed with fresh sea water and soaked in methanol for one week for crude extract preparation. Extracts were obtained from the whole body tissue. The solvent extract was decanted, filtered through Whatman filter paper I and vacuum evaporated at 40°C to concentrate to crude extract. About 30 gm of crude extract was thus obtained. This example illustrates the methodology used for preparation of the crude methanol extract from Zoanthus sp. Example II A female virgin guinea pig that was in oestrous and weighing around 400-500 gm was used for the test. The animal was killed by a stunning blow on the head. The abdomen was immediately cut open. The uterus was dissected out and placed in a petri plate containing aerated De Jalon's solution ( M.N Ghosh, in fundamentals of Experimental Pharmacology, 1984, second edition, Scientific book agency, Calcutta) The uterus was freed from fat and the two uterine horns were separated by cutting the lower end Only one horn was used for the experiment. Two small loops of thread were made at each end of the uterus and kept in a tissue bath of 10 ml capacity containing aerated De Jalon's solution. The lower end was tied to the tissue holder and the upper end to the writing lever. The lever was balanced to provide a tension of 1 g with plasticene. The tissue was left in the bath for 1/2 hr for stabilisation before starting the experiment and the physiological solution ( De Jalon's solution ) was renewed every 10 minutes. This example illustrates the procedure used for the preparation of the guinea pig uterus for testing the oxytocic property of the pure white solid, 2-deoxy ecdysterone. Example III After stabilisation, 2-3 doses of oxytocin ( Parke Davis Ltd, Hyderabad ) were added as standard to the physiological solution, the dose depending on the amplitude of contraction to obtain uniform contractions. The extract was then added to the bath (50 & 250 µg/ml) and allowed to act for one minute. If a contraction was observed during that one-minute period, extract was considered to be oxytocin-like and having oxytocic property. After every contraction, the tissue was immediately washed twice with the physiological solution and relaxed for 10 minutes. The same procedure was followed for the crude extract, fractions and the purified white solid, identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone. The oxytocic activity of the crude, fractions and the pure compound was tested on the guinea pig uterus based on its ability to contract the relaxed uterus. The tissue was spiked with a standard oxytocic agent which induces contraction of the tissue The efficacy of the testing agent was measured by its ability to contract the uterus by comparing the height of contraction with the standard oxytocin (Table 1). This example illustrates the procedure used for testing the crude extract and the detailed procedure followed. Oxytocic activity of the methanol extract against standard oxytocin Crude extract 50 µg/ml 250 µg/ml Activity (%) 13.3 126.3 Example IV The crude extract was fractionated into different fractions using solvents of increasing polarity such as petroleum ether, chloroform, n-butanol and the aqueous residue fraction. All four fractions were again subjected to the activity test. Although the first three fractions were found to be active, both at 50 and 250 µg/l concentration (Table 2), the chloroform fraction was chosen for follow-up studies. This example illustrates the activity tests with all 4 fractions of the crude methanol extract. Oxytocic activity of the fractions against standard oxytocin (%) Fractions 50 µg/ml 250µg/ml Petroleum ether 57.4 102.5 Chloroform 47.1 104.6 N-butanol 83.8 100.0 Aqueous not active not active Example V The above chloroform fraction was purified by chromatography over silica gel (particle size 125-250 µm (mesh 60-120), acetone-hexane gradient system), and Sephadex® LH-20 (acetone eluent) columns. This led to the isolation of the active compound as a white solid in pure form (50 mg, Figure 1), [α] D 25 =75.11, c=1.2, MeOH. The compound had an Rf value of 0.72 during TLC analysis (SiO 2 , mobile phase-50% acetone:petroleum ether). IR spectrum showed peaks at 3350, 2933, 2874, 1649 and 1447 (Figure 2). FABMS indicated molecular weight of this compound to be 464. The fragment ions at m/z 447(M+H-H 2 O) + , 429 (M+H-2 H 2 O) + , 411(M+H-3H 2 O), were indicative of successive losses of elements of water. HRMS revealed its molecular formula to be C 27 H 44 O 6 (observed m/z 465.3229 as against the calculated value of 465.3216 for the [M+H] + ion). Comparison of the 1 H & 13 C NMR values (Figures 3 & 4) of the compound with those of ecdysone, ecdysterone and related compounds (Galbraith M N, Horn D H S, Middleton E J & Hackney R J, Structure of Deoxy ecdysterone,a second crustacean moulting hormone, Chem commun , 83,1968; Chong Y.K, Galbraith M N & Horn D H S, Isolation of Deoxycrustecdysone, Deoxyecdysone and α-Ecdysone from the fern Blechnum minus, Chem comm. 1217,1970) revealed its structure to be 2-deoxy ecdysterone (Figure 5). It was found that the percentage of active component oxytocin contained in 50µg/ml of compound amounts to 80 8%, that at 100µg/ml to 92.3% which further increases to 118.0% at concentration of 200µg/ml (Figure 6, Table 3). Uterine contractions produced by the compound were also compared with the standard contraction produced by prostaglandin (PGF 2α ). It was observed that for the active compound, the percentage of active component PGF 2α contained in 50 µg/ml of compound amounts to 69.4%, that at 100 µg/ml to 82.3% which further increases to 114.1% at concentration of 200 µg/ml (Fig 6 and Table 3). This example illustrates purification, identification, and oxytocic activity testing of the compound, 2-deoxy ecdysterone. Response of 2-deoxy ecdysterone compared to oxytocin and PGF 2α Concentration 50 µg/ml 100 µg/ml 200 µg/ml % response compared to standard oxytocin 80.8 92.3 118.0 % response compared to standard PGF 2α 69.4 82.3 114.1

Claims: A process for the isolation of 2-deoxy ecdysterone from Zoanthus sp. comprising the successive steps of: a) preparing a crude methanol extract of Zoanthus sp., b) subjecting the crude methanol extract to at least one fractionation with at least one of an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-butanol and mixtures thereof to yield at least one active solvent fraction, c) subjecting the at least one active solvent fraction to flash chromatography over silica gel to obtain a partially purified active sub-fraction, and d) subjecting the active sub-fraction obtained from step (c) above to gel permeation chromatography over Sephadex® LH-20 to obtain an essentially pure compound identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone. The process of claim 1, wherein the flash chromatography is performed over silica gel (particle size 125-250 µm) ((60-120 mesh)) using gradient acetone-petroleum ether (30:70 to 100:0 v/volume) as eluant. The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the eluent used in said gel permeation chromatography performed over Sephadex® LH-20 is acetone. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the active pure compound is identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone from its IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and mass spectral data. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each one of petroleum ether extract, chloroform extract, n-butanol extract is subjected to obtain an essentially pure compound identified as 2-deoxy ecdysterone. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the compound 2-deoxy ecdysterone is found to be active up to 80.8, 92.3 and 118.0 % at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml in an aqueous solution, respectively, as compared to standard oxytocin ; or is found to be active up to 69.4, 82.3 and 114.1 % at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml of aqueous solution respectively as compared to standard PGF 2α .

Inventors: ACHUTHANKUTTY CHITTUR THELAKKA, GONSALVES CYNTHIA OLIMPIA LYDI, NAIK CHANDRAKANT GOVIND, SUBRAYAN PERUNNINAKULATH PARAM, ACHUTHANKUTTY, CHITTUR THELAKKAT, GONSALVES, CYNTHIA OLIMPIA LYDIA, NAIK, CHANDRAKANT GOVIND, SUBRAYAN, PERUNNINAKULATH PARAMESWARAN
Applicants: COUNCIL SCIENT IND RES, COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
Application year: 2000
Main classification: C07J9
IPC codes: C07J9, A61P15, A61K31