Covering up to 2016 Nauclea latifolia (syn. Sarcocephalus latifolius, Rubiaceae), commonly called the African pincushion tree, is a plant widely used in folk medicine in different regions of Africa for treating a variety of illnesses, including malaria, epilepsy and pain. N. latifolia has not only drawn the interest of traditional healers but also of phytochemists, who have identified a range of bioactive indole alkaloids in its tissue. More recently, following up on the traditional use of extracts in pain management, a bio-guided purification from the roots of the tree led to the identification of the active ingredient as tramadol, available as a synthetic analgesic since the 1970s. The discovery of this compound as a natural phytochemical was highlighted worldwide. This review focuses on the correlation between extracted compounds and pharmacological activities, paying special attention to infectious diseases and neurologically-related disorders. A critical analysis of the data reported so far on the natural origin of tramadol and its proposed biosynthesis is also presented.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) represents the main Cl^– channel in the apical membrane of epithelial cells for cAMP-dependent Cl^– secretion. Here we report on the synthesis and screening of a small library of nontoxic α-aminoazaheterocycle-methylglyoxal adducts, inhibitors of wild-type (WT) CFTR and G551D-, G1349D-, and F508del-CFTR Cl^– channels. In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing WT-CFTR, we recorded rapid and reversible inhibition of forskolin-activated CFTR currents in the presence of the adducts 5a and 8a,b at 10 pM concentrations. Using iodide efflux experiments, we compared concentration-dependent inhibition of CFTR with glibenclamide (IC₅₀ = 14.7 μM), 3-[(3-trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-5-[(4-carboxyphenyl-)methylene]-2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinone (CFTR_inh-172) (IC₅₀ = 1.2 μM), and α-aminoazaheterocycle-methylglyoxal adducts and identified compounds 5a (IC₅₀ = 71 pM), 8a,b (IC₅₀ = 2.5 nM), and 7a,b (IC₅₀ = 3.4 nM) as the most potent inhibitors of WT-CFTR channels. Similar ranges of inhibition were also found when these compounds were evaluated on CFTR channels with the cystic fibrosis mutations F508del (in temperature-corrected human airway epithelial F508del/F508del CF15 cells)-, G551D-, and G1349D-CFTR (expressed in CHO and COS-7 cells). No effect of compound 5a was detected on the volume-regulated or calcium-regulated iodide efflux. Picomolar inhibition of WT-CFTR with adduct 5a was also found using a 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl)-quinolinium fluorescent probe applied to the human tracheobronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o–. Finally, we found comparable inhibition by 5a or by CFTR_inh-172 of forskolin-dependent short-circuit currents in mouse colon. To the best of our knowledge, these new nontoxic α-aminoazaheterocycle-methylglyoxal adducts represent the most potent compounds reported to inhibit CFTR chloride channels.