Sustainable Extraction of Alkaloids from Worsleya procera: Improving the Method with Green Chemistry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a greener, more sustainable method for extracting alkaloids from Worsleya procera, reducing solvent use while maintaining effectiveness and biological activity.

Contribution

The study presents the first systematic comparison of traditional and green extraction methods for Worsleya procera alkaloids.

Findings

Greener extraction methods reduced solvent use by 46.5% without compromising efficiency.

Greener solvents showed higher butyrylcholinesterase inhibition compared to conventional methods.

Fifteen alkaloids were annotated, including licorine, homolicorine, and tazettine subtypes.

Abstract

Green chemistry seeks to develop safer, more efficient,
and environmentally
sustainable processes, particularly for the extraction of bioactive
compounds from natural sources. In this study, Worsleya
procera, a chemically underexplored species of the
Amaryllidaceae family, was investigated as a source of alkaloids with
therapeutic potential. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents
the first systematic comparison of multiple traditional and green
extraction workflows applied to this species. Several protocols were
evaluated using conventional solvents (methanol, hexane) and greener
alternatives (ethanol, heptane), with or without modifications in
the extraction steps. The optimized protocol reduced solvent use by
∼46.5% and simplified the workflow while maintaining extraction
efficiency. A total of 27 alkaloids were detected, and 15 compounds
belonging to the licorine, homolicorine, and tazettine subtypes were
annotated. Bioaffinity chromatography revealed that extracts obtained
with greener solvents showed selective inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase
(76.9 ± 5.0%) compared to conventional methods (56.0 ± 6.3%),
while acetylcholinesterase inhibition remained similar (26.3 ±
2.2% vs 25.7 ± 0.8%). Galantamine, used as a positive control,
inhibited both enzymes by >97%, validating the bioassay. These
findings
demonstrate that greener extraction strategies not only reduce environmental
impact but also preserve biological activity, positioning the proposed
methodology as a sustainable alternative for natural product research.

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