Description

Bulleyaconitine A is a diterpenoid alkaloid that has been isolated from the Chinese herb, Bulleya. It is a potent κ-opioid receptor agonist and was found to have cytotoxic effects on rat liver microsomes. Bulleyaconitine A also has significant anti-inflammatory properties and inhibits the production of prostaglandins in vitro. This compound has been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells by inhibiting cyclase activity, which may be due to its ability to inhibit protein synthesis. In addition, bulleyaconitine A has been shown to inhibit bone resorption and promote bone formation, as well as reduce acute toxicities when administered orally or intraperitoneally. The optimum extraction process for bulleyaconitine A is an ethanol/water mixture followed by column chromatography with silica gel or alumina as the adsorbent material.