Magnoflorine

(S)-Magnoflorine is a quaternary benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA) of the aporphine structural subgroup which has been isolated from various species of the family Menispermaceae, such as Pachygone ovata, Sinomenium acutum, and Cissampelos pareira.

It was identified among the verified anti-inflammatory components in an extract of Sinomenii caulis and has been proposed to have other potential physiological effects, such as sedative and anxiolytic, reduction of erythrocyte hemolysis, antifungal activity, improvement of LPS-induced acute lung injury, and protection against muscle atrophy. Furthermore, magnoflorine has been identified to be an inhibitor of NF-κB activation and to be an agonist at the β2 -adrenergic receptor.

(S)-Magnoflorine is metabolically derived from (S)-reticuline, a pivotal intermediate in the biosynthesis of numerous BIA structural subgroups, through two enzymatic steps: first, (S)-corytuberine synthase/CYP80G2 to (S)-corytuberine, and secondly, (S)-corytuberine-N-methyltransferase to (S)-magnoflorine.