Short report Phytochemical and antiprotozoal activity of Ocotea lancifolia Alain Fournet a, ⁎ , Maria Elena Ferreira b , Antonieta Rojas de Arias b , Isabelle Guy c , Hélène Guinaudeau c , Horacio Heinzen d a IRD, US 084, Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris-Sud, rue J.B. Clément, 92296 Châtenay-Malabry, France b Departamento de Medicina Tropical, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud, CC 2511, Asuncion, Paraguay c Substances d'Origine Naturelle et Analogues Structuraux, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université d'Angers, 16, boulevard Daviers, 49045 Angers cedex, France d Laboratorio de Farmacognosia y Productos Naturales, Facultad de Quimica-UDELAR, Gral. Flores 2124, P.O. Box 1157, C.P.11.800 Montevideo, Uruguay Received 2 February 2006; accepted 15 March 2007 Available online 11 April 2007 Abstract Thirteen known isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from Ocotea lancifolia, popularly known as « canela pilosa » in Brasil and « laurel né » by the Guarani people which means smell laurel. Their activities against the promastigote forms of three Leishmania strains and the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma cruzi were evaluated, as well as their hepatocytotoxicity. Among them, the noraporphine alkaloid (-) caaverine has shown the most interesting antiprotozoal activity against Leishmania and T. cruzi parasites. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ocotea lancifolia; Isoquinoline alkaloids; Leishmancidal activity; Trypanocidal activity 1. Plant Ocotea lancifolia Mez (Lauraceae), collected in October 1995 by A. Fournet from the Department of Cordillera, Piribebuy, Paraguay was identified by Dr. Henk Van der Werff of the Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, USA. A voucher specimen (AF 936) has been deposited in the Herbarium of Chemical Sciences Faculty, Asuncion, Paraguay (FCQ). 2. Uses in traditional medicine In traditional medicine in Paraguay as an antiparasitic. In the course of screening for antileishmanicidal compounds in Paraguayan plants, we have found that the alkaloidal crude extract of O. lancifolia displayed activity in vitro at a concentration of 100 μg/ml against three strains of promastigote forms of Leishmania spp., L. braziliensis, L. amazonensis and L. donovani. Fitoterapia 78 (2007) 382 – 384 www.elsevier.com/locate/fitote ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 01 46 83 55 94; fax: +33 01 46 83 53 99. E-mail address: alain.fournet@ird.fr (A. Fournet). 0367-326X/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2007.03.003