IOSR Journal of Applied Chemistry (IOSR-JAC) e-ISSN: 2278-5736.Volume 11, Issue 4 Ver. I (April. 2018), PP 08-11 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/5736-1104010811 www.iosrjournals.org 8 |Page GC-MS analysis and antiacetylcholinesterase activity of the dichloromethane leaves extract of Ravenia spectabilis Lindl. (Rutaceae) Cristina Borges Viana 1 , Isabelle Lemos Liesner 2 , Roberto Carlos Campos Martins 1 1 (Instituto De Pesquisa De Produtos Naturais, Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro- 21941-902, Brazil) 2 ( Faculdade De Farmácia, Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro-21941-902, Brazil) Corresponding Author: Cristina Borges Viana Abstract: Ravenia spectabilis Lindl. is a plant that belongs to the genus Ravenia (Rutaceae). It is a tall, medium-sized shrub that occurs widely in South America, and can also be found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries in Asia. Previous phytochemical studies reported the presence of quinolone alkaloids, pyranocoumarins, flavonoids and various bioactive terpenes in its aerial parts. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities are also reported for extractives from this plant. Dichloromethane leaves extract of a specimen cultivated in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was analyzed by GC-MS and led to the identification of the compounds isatin, lichexanthone and the terpenes α-spinasterone, lupeol, sitostenone and α-cadinol in its composition. Some of them are found for this time in both genus Ravenia and R. spectabilis. Dichloromethane leaves extract was also tested for acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibition and showed 54.4± 3.70 (0.1 mg/mL) % of activity. Keywords: Ravenia spectabilis, GC-MS, bioactive compounds, AChE inhibition --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 22-03-2018 Date of acceptance: 07-04-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Ravenia spectabilis (Rutaceae) is a versatile shrub widely spread throughout South America and some Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Previous chemical studies of leaves extracts reported the accumulation of quinolone alkaloids such as arborinine 1,2 , ravenine 2,3 , ravenoline 2,3 and atanine 2 . Quinolone alkaloid ravesilone, paraensin and acridone alkaloids were also isolated from leaves 4,5 . In 2013, in addition to these metabolites, other compounds were isolated from its stems such as the steroids stigmasterol and spinasterone, alkaloid γ-fagarine, geranyl indole and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy cinnamic acid 6 . Concerning to biological activities, literature reports only antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties for extractives of this plant 7,8 and most of the articles presented studies of specimens from Asia, more specifically plants from Bangladesh. The main goal of this paper is to present the results of a GC-MS analysis of a dichlormethane leaves extracts of a specimen of R. spectabilis cultivated in Brazil aiming to compare its chemical profile with the literatures, what might work even as a search for bioactive compounds. Additionally, the extract was tested for in vitro inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, a key enzyme involved in Alzheimer´s Disease, which is becoming a great concern all over the world as population grows older every year. II. Material And Methods 2.1 Plant material Leaves of R. spectabilis were collected at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in August, 2016 and identified by Dr. Marcelo Trovó, from the Institute of Biology of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). A voucher specimen is deposited at the Herbarium of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro under the code Giordano, LC 901 (RB). 2.2 Obtention of the extract Fresh plant material was dried in an oven under the temperature of 40º C for 48 hours. Dried material was grounded to a fine powder in a mill and this powder was submitted to an extraction by maceration with dichloromethane (USP Grade) for 5 days. Solvent was further evaporated under vacuum and the residue was stored at room temperature under Nitrogen atmosphere.