Variations of huperzine A content in Lycopodiaceae species from tropics

(−) Huperzine A is a bioactive alkaloid from Huperzia serrata (Lycopodiaceae) used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. High yielding (−) huperzine A species is of interest for mass propagation since it grows slowly in temperate countries. The content of (−) huperzine A from temperate countries was reported but none reported from tropical species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of (−) huperzine A from tropical club mosses and further identify a high yielding species. Club mosses from Lycopodiaceae family were collected from Peninsular Malaysia. The collected club mosses were dried, pulverized and extracted with methanol. A gradient reverse phase HPLC-photodiode array detector method with increasing amount of methanol in 0.01 % trifluoroacetic acid was developed. The calibration curve was linear from 5 to 100 μgmL−1 with correlation coefficient, r2, of 0.998 1. The precision for both intra- and inter-day peak area were between 0.48% to 1.24 % and 0.95% to 3.85 %, respectively. The recovery of the method was between 99.8% to 103.8 %. Though geographically segregated, (−) huperzine A content in Huperzia phlegmaria and H.carinata found in the tropics was highest and similar to species in Australasia. Both species may provide a good source of (−) huperzine A.