Crude plant extract versus single compounds for vitiligo treatment: ex vivo intestinal permeability assessment on Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul

Abstract

Roots´ bark extract of Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul (EBGT) is traditionally used for photochemotherapy of vitiligo due to the presence of furanocoumarins psoralen (PSO) and 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) as major compounds. Though plant extracts may provide additional highly permeable psoralens-like substances which may act synergically on vitiligo’s therapy. Thus, the aim of this work was to develop an LC–MS/MS method for screening new highly permeable furanocoumarins from B. gaudichaudii and to compare biomarkers permeability and solubility provided as single compounds or as crude extract, according to BCS. An optimized LC–MS/MS method showed twelve permeable and bioactive compounds, among which 9 furanocoumarins, 2 pyranocoumarins and 1 dihydrocinnamic acid derivative were detected in EBGT samples. Solubility of PSO and 5-MOP was found to be, respectively, six- and eleven-fold higher in crude extract than as pure compounds. Permeability (Papp) of PSO and 5-MOP in EBGT were higher than metoprolol, the low/high BCS permeability class boundary reference compound. Hence, both biomarkers were considered as highly permeable (BCS2) compounds. Their permeability were concentration-dependent displaying values from 30.26 ± 5.13–8.21 ± 2.16 × 10−6 cm/s and 10.72 ± 1.73–6.07 ± 1.27 × 10−6 cm/s, respectively, over a wide range (2.3–200.0 mg mL-1). Thus, a carrier-mediated absorption process is suggested as the main mechanism. Accordingly, all additional permeated coumarins, identified by LC–MS/MS, showed to be at comparable amount of biomarkers in the permeated samples inferring similar high permeability rate. Moreover, biomarkers and other highly absorbable and bioactive linear furanocoumarins from EBGT may be used for vitiligo´s photochemotherapy. Taken together, these findings bring additional evidences for using crude plant extract when aiming synergistic effects of bioactive compounds on melanogenic therapies.