Abstract

VERIFICATION OF THE ANTIMUTAGENIC ACTION OF PTEROPODINE, EXTRACTED FROM UNCARIA TOMENTOSA, USING QUANTUM CHEMISTRY

Medardo Galdámez-Velázquez, Ana Karen Pérez-Pérez, Giovanny Flores-Romero, Samantha Suárez-Rodríguez, Alexis Torres-Solano and *Manuel González-Pérez

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Abstract

Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is a climbing plant found in the Amazon rainforest and other regions of Central and South America. This plant is used in traditional medicine to cure many diseases. Pteropodine (PPN) is a heterohimbine-type oxindole alkaloid isolated specifically from U. tomentosa. The aim was to characterize PPN and NBs from the human body by quantum chemistry, to assess whether PPN is an antimutagenic agent. Hyperchem software was used as a quantum chemistry simulator. The fundamental basis of quantum calculations was the theory of the electron transfer coefficient (ETCs). We can see the ETCs ordered according to the quantum well. It is observed that the PPN is located at the supernatant of the well. This location leads us to infer that PPN is a short-acting substance; in other words, it is easy to remove from the biological system. The information in the whisker and box plots shows that the probability of antioxidant interactions occurring is more remarkable than oxidation reactions because they are located further down the quantum well. We found that PPN is an antioxidant of NBs in the human body, so it has protective actions and avoids mutations.

Keywords: Antimutagenic, Pteropodine, Quantum Chemistry, Uncaria Tomentosa.