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A novel aphrodisiac compound from an orchid that activates nitric oxide synthases

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 25, pages 212–216 (2013)Cite this article

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A Corrigendum to this article was published on 16 July 2014

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is known to have roles in several crucial biological functions including vasodilation and penile erection. There are neuronal, endothelial and inducible NO synthases that influence the levels of NO in tissues and blood. NO activates guanylate cyclase and thereby increases the levels of cyclic GMP (cGMP). Viagra (sildenafil), a top selling drug in the world for erectile dysfunction, inhibits phosphodiesterase-5, which hydrolyses cGMP to GMP. Thus, it fosters an NO-mediated increase in the levels of cGMP, which mediates erectile function. Here, we show the aphrodisiac activity of a novel chemical isolate from the flowers of an epiphytic orchid, Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) ex Don, which activates neuronal and endothelial, but not inducible, NO synthases. The aphrodisiac activity is caused by an increase in the level of NO in corpus cavernosum. The drug increases blood levels of NO as early as 30 min after oral administration. The active compound was isolated by column chromatography. Based on the spectral data, the active compound is found to be a new compound, 2,7,7-tri methyl bicyclo [2.2.1] heptane. We anticipate that our findings could lead to the development of a commercially viable and valuable drug for erectile dysfunction.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. We gratefully acknowledge Mangalam S Nair for her help in obtaining some of the spectral data and the interpretation of the spectra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Phytopharmacology, Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, India,

    A Subramoniam, P K Sureshkumar, J Radhika & B K Arun

  2. Department of Botany, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India

    A Gangaprasad

Authors
  1. A Subramoniam
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  2. A Gangaprasad
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  3. P K Sureshkumar
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  4. J Radhika
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  5. B K Arun
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Correspondence to A Subramoniam.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Author contributions

AS (Principal Investigator of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, funded Project) wrote the project with assistance from AG and PKS, designed the work, analyzed the experimental data and wrote the paper. AG (co-investigator of the project) helped in designing the experiments and in writing the manuscript. PKS (co-investigator of the project) helped in writing the project proposal and the collection of Vanda tessellata from the field. JR and KBR (Research Fellows in the project) carried out animal experiments, biochemical assays and isolation of active principles under the direct supervision of AS.

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Subramoniam, A., Gangaprasad, A., Sureshkumar, P. et al. A novel aphrodisiac compound from an orchid that activates nitric oxide synthases. Int J Impot Res 25, 212–216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2013.18

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