Rapid screening and purification of potential alkaloid neuraminidase inhibitors from Toddalia asiatica (Linn.) Lam. roots via ultrafiltration liquid chromatography combined with stepwise flow rate counter-current chromatography.

Toddalia asiatica (Linn.) Lam. is a medical plant traditionally used to treat coughs, fevers, and various diseases. Alkaloids are the main active ingredients in Toddalia asiatica (Linn.) Lam., but traditional methods for screening and separation are complex and labor-intensive. In this work, an efficient strategy was developed to rapidly screen, identify, and separate neuraminidase inhibitors from Toddalia asiatica (Linn.) Lam. Ultrafiltration, high performance liquid chromatography, and time-of-flight mass spectrometry were employed for rapid screening and identification of neuraminidase inhibitors. A two-phase solvent system comprising n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:5:3:7, v/v) was then selected for separation by high-speed counter-current chromatography. A sample loading of 200 mg and a stepwise flow rate were achieved by increasing the flow rate from 2 to 4 mL/min after 4 h. Three main fluoroquinoline alkaloids (haplopine, skimmianine, and 5-methoxydictamnine) along with two coumarins were obtained via one-step separation and their structures were determined by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. In vitro assays revealed skimmianine with half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 16.2 ± 0.7 µmol/L was selected as the potential highest neuraminidase inhibitor. The results suggest that ultrafiltration high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with high-speed counter-current chromatography is efficient for the screening and isolation of neuraminidase inhibitors from complex natural products.