Fitoterapia

Volume 100, January 2015, Pages 156–165

Effects of Chelidonium majus extracts and major alkaloids on hERG potassium channels and on dog cardiac action potential — A safety approach

• Péter Orvos^{a, b},
• László Virág^a,
• László Tálosi^b,
• Zsuzsanna Hajdú^c,
• Dezső Csupor^c,
• Nikoletta Jedlinszki^c,
• Tamás Szél^a,
• András Varró^{a, d},
• Judit Hohmann^{c, ,}

doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2014.11.023

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Abstract

Chelidonium majus or greater celandine is spread throughout the world, and it is a very common and frequent component of modern phytotherapy. Although C. majus contains alkaloids with remarkable physiological effect, moreover, safety pharmacology properties of this plant are not widely clarified, medications prepared from this plant are often used internally. In our study the inhibitory effects of C. majus herb extracts and alkaloids on hERG potassium current as well as on cardiac action potential were investigated. Our data show that hydroalcoholic extracts of greater celandine and its alkaloids, especially berberine, chelidonine and sanguinarine have a significant hERG potassium channel blocking effect. These extracts and alkaloids also prolong the cardiac action potential in dog ventricular muscle. Therefore these compounds may consequently delay cardiac repolarization, which may result in the prolongation of the QT interval and increase the risk of potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias.

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Graphical abstract

Chemical compounds studied in this article

• Berberine (PubChem CID: 2353);
• Chelerythrine (PubChem CID: 2703);
• Chelidonine (PubChem CID: 10147);
• Sanguinarine (PubChem CID: 5154);
• Coptisine (PubChem CID: 72322)

Keywords

• Chelidonium majus;
• Greater celandine;
• hERG;
• Cardiac action potential;
• Arrhythmia;
• QT interval

Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Eötvös u. 6, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.