**Chapter 6**

5Fac. de Ciências Farmacêuticas – UFAM-R. Alexandre Amorim, AM

4 Instituto de Pesuisas Biomédicas, Hospital Naval Marcílio Dias, Rua Cesar Zama, RJ

3Laboratório de Cromatografia – Depto. de Química - UFAM – Setor Sul / Japiim - Manaus/AM

**A General Description of Apocynaceae Iridoids Chromatography** 

Debora T. Ohana 1,5 and Jefferson Rocha de A. Silva3

Nabuco, 100 – Manguinhos/RJ, 21041-250, Brazil

2Faculdade de Farmácia – UFF- Rua Mario Viana, RJ

Ana Cláudia F. Amaral1, Aline de S. Ramos1, José Luiz P. Ferreira1,2, Arith R. dos Santos1, Deborah Q. Falcão2, Bianca O. da Silva4,

1Laboratório de Plantas Medicinais e Derivados, Depto de Produtos Naturais, Farmanguinhos – FIOCRUZ – Rua Sizenando

Iridoids are considered atypical monoterpenoid compounds, based on a methylcyclopentan-[C]-pyran skeleton, often fused to a

intermediates of the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway in the citosol, and the novel 2-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway in the plastids of plant cells [2, 5, 6]. The participation of two pathways in iridoid biosynthesis has not yet been clarified, but recent analyses have described the major role of the MEP in the yield of the source for the iridoid isoprene units when compared with the MVA pathway [7, 8, 9]. Iridoid biosynthesis shows two pathways, called route I and II, in which secoiridoids and carboxylated or decarboxylated iridoids are formed, respectively. Route I, considered the main pathway, is responsible for yielding the precursor of the carboxylic iridoids, from iridodial which is oxidized a iridotrial and subsequently converted to a series the iridoids, as occurs in loganin, secologanin, derived secoiridoids, and complex indole alkaloids. In route II, the presence of 8-epi-iridodial, 8-epi-iridotrial and 8-epi-deoxyloganic acid have been reported, forming a source of decarboxylated carbocyclic

Iridoids have shown a broad range of biological activities, such as an antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inammatory, antitumoral, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidative, anti-protozoal and anti-insect properties [13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19]. *In vitro* activities inhibiting the hepatitis C virus, the differentiation of the adipocyte, and PPARα activation activities have been also
