Inhibitory Effects of Bioactive Fractions Containing Protoberberine Alkaloids from the Roots of Coptis japonica on Monoamine Oxidase Activity

The effects of bioactive fractions containing protoberberine alkaloids from Coptis japonica on monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity were investigated. The MAO was obtained from the mitochondrial fraction of mouse brain. The butanol fraction from Coptis japonica was fractionated into separate bioactive fraction (Fr I-IV) by silica gel column chromatography. MAO activity was strongly inhibited by Fr III and IV, which mainly contain protoberberine alkaloids such as berberine, palmatine and coptisine. These results indicated that the protoberberine alkaloids from Coptis japonica had an inhibitory effect on MAO activity.