Isolation and Chemical Analysis of a Fatty Acid Fraction of Kalanchoe pinnata with a Potent Lymphocyte Suppressive Activity

Abstract

Previously we demonstrated that Kalanchoe pinnata (KP) leaf extracts inhibited in vitro lymphocyte proliferation and showed in vivo immunosuppressive activity. Here we attempt to identify the immunosuppressive substances present in KP guided by the lymphoproliferative assays. From the ethanolic extract was purified a fraction (KP12SA) twenty-fold more potent to block murine lymphocyte proliferation than the crude extract. Chemical analysis by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, IR and GC-MS of KP12SA (methylated sample) showed 89.3 % of palmitic acid (C₁₆), 10.7 % of stearic acid (C₁₈) and traces of arachidic (C₂₀) and behenic acids (C₂₂). This study provides evidence that fatty acids present in Kalanchoe pinnata may be responsible, at least in part, for its immunosuppressive effect in vivo.

Key words

Kalanchoe pinnata - Crassulaceae - ethanolic extract - saturated fatty acid - lymphocyte proliferation

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