切叶蚁亚科蚂蚁的防御性生物碱

蚂蚁(蚁科)有显著的群居特性,个体间分工明确,并具有复杂的合作策略,以保护巢穴不受捕食者、病原微生物、蚂蚁竞争者的侵害,以及捕食猎物等。切叶蚁亚科是蚁科的最大类群,共有147个现生属,主要通过喷洒富含生物碱的毒液分泌物进行防御和捕猎。本文综述了该亚科防御性生物碱的组分及属种分布特征,其结构类型包括哌啶、吡啶、吡咯、吲哚里西啶、吡咯里西啶和脂肪胺等,并对其功能及应用进行了概述和展望。哌啶类生物碱是火蚁属Solenopsis毒液的典型特征,而吡咯烷、吡咯啉和吡咯里西啶类生物碱是小家蚁属Monomorium毒液的主要成分。吲哚里西啶类生物碱是脊红蚁属Myrmicaria蚂蚁和火蚁属贼蚁毒液的主要成分。除此之外,脂肪胺也是小家蚁属蚂蚁的毒液成分。这些毒液生物碱成分具有显著的生物活性,在农药和生物医药领域具有重要的应用前景。     

白背三七叶中吡咯里西啶生物碱的LC—MS^n检测

广泛分布于植物中的吡咯里西啶生物碱（pyrrolizidine alkaloids,PAs）由具有双稠吡咯啶环的氨基醇与不同有机酸缩合而成,醇部分为裂碱（necine）,酸部分为裂酸（necicacid）。以裂碱的结构可划分为2种类型,即倒千里光裂碱型（retronecine—type,RET型）和奥托千里光裂碱型（otonecinetype,OTO型）。     

具抗癌活性的菲并吲哚里西丁类生物碱构效关系及不对称全合成研究进展

菲并吲哚里西丁类生物碱最引人瞩目的生物活性是抗肿瘤活性,本文对这类天然小分子化合物的构效关系和主要不对称全合成路线做了综述,以期为有机化学工作者开发高抗癌活性的菲并吲哚里西啶类生物碱提供参考。     

基于色谱技术的款冬花蕾与花梗代谢组成差异分析

本研究拟对款冬花蕾与花梗的化学组成差异进行比较。采用基于气质联用的代谢组学技术对花蕾与花梗的代谢组成差异进行分析,代谢产物的结构指认通过NIST数据库检索和标准品对照确定,GC-MS数据通过XCMS预处理后导入SIMCA-P软件进行多元统计分析;采用超高效液相色谱法对花蕾和花梗中吡咯里西啶生物碱的含量进行测定。结果基于GC-MS的代谢组学分析共鉴定了款冬中54个代谢产物,主成分分析显示款冬花蕾与花梗的代谢组成明显不同。OPLS-DA分析的载荷图显示,与花蕾相比,花梗中肌醇、香橙烯、豆甾醇、棕榈酸等化合物含量较低,而蔗糖、花生四烯酸等含量较高。此外,花蕾中吡咯里西啶生物碱含量为102μg·g-1,明显高于花梗中的含量(64μg·g-1)。款冬花蕾与花梗的化学组成存在较大差异,为了保证中医临床用药的安全有效,药用款冬花中应剔除花梗,并在质量标准检查项中规定花梗限量。     

细菌源吡咯里西啶类生物碱的发现及生物合成研究进展

吡咯里西啶类生物碱(Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids,PAs)在高等植物中分布广泛,目前超过6000种植物产生了650余个PAs。源于细菌的PAs发现较少,其中ClazamycinA和ClazamycinB由Umezawa等在1979年报道。近年来在微生物基因组和合成生物学发展的驱动下,细菌源PAs的发现和生物合成的研究方兴未艾。截至目前,已发现12类(60余个)源于细菌的PAs,包括波米西亚胺、Azetidomonamides和Brabantamides,以及含有PAs结构单元的多烯大环内酰胺Ciromicins和Heronamides。对这些结构多样、活性优异的细菌源PAs的研究发现,多数PAs依赖于一对独特的非核糖体多肽合成酶(Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetases,NRPSs)/拜耳-维利格单加氧酶(Bayer-Villiger Monooxygenase)生物合成其吡咯双烷基本骨架;而含有β-氨基酸的多烯大环内酰胺中吡咯双烷的形成则可能通过一个高度非对映选择性的电子重排反应途径。微生物基因组挖掘揭示了细菌中有大量沉默的PAs生物合成基因簇,说明细菌PAs在细菌进化和其环境/宿主的适应性中起着重要作用。     

苦马豆素的免疫原性及抗肿瘤研究进展

苦马豆素(Swainsonine,SW)属吲哚里西啶生物碱,是疯草(Locoweed)的主要有毒成分。SW主要是通过抑制溶酶体α-甘露糖甙酶Ⅰ和高尔基氏体α-甘露糖甙酶Ⅱ的活性使家畜中毒。除了研究SW的毒性外,学者们还根据其可抑制α-甘露糖甙酶的活性,对其抗肿瘤活性进行了研究,发现其可抑制肿瘤细胞的转移和实体瘤在小鼠和肿瘤患者身上的生长,刺激宿主的免疫系统,增强免疫细胞对肿瘤的杀伤活性。近来又有人从免疫学角度研究了SW的免疫原性。本文主要从SW的免疫原性及其抗肿瘤活性进行了综述。     

广义小檗科植物药用亲缘学的研究

为探讨广义小檗科Berberidaceae s.l.植物的亲缘关系、化学成分与疗效间存在的联系性, 即药用亲缘学的研究, 将有关本科的植物化学、疗效等信息数据与植物亲缘关系进行综合的研究分析。研究结果发现本科的化学成分可以划分为几大类型: 苄基异喹啉类生物碱、鬼臼毒素类木脂素、三萜皂苷、喹喏里西啶生物碱和淫羊霍苷类黄酮等, 结合其疗效, 发现广义小檗科从药用亲缘学的角度来观察, 可以划分为4个独立的小科, 即南天竹科Nandinaceae、小檗科Berberidaceae(狭义)、狮足草科Leonticaceae和鬼臼科Podophyllaceae。     

单猪屎豆碱资源植物——大猪屎豆(Crotalaria assamica Benth.)的研究

近年来,在应用野百合属植物农吉利(即野百合Crotalaria sessiliflora L.)治疗皮肤癌等恶性肿瘤,取得一定疗效后,曾自农吉利中分离出农吉利生物碱Ⅰ——农吉利甲素。经化学研究证明,系双稠吡咯啶生物碱——单猪屎豆碱(Monocrota-line)。实验性动物抑制试验表明,对S_(180)抑制率达45—62.5％,临床试用也取得较为满意的疗效。农吉利在我国分布尚广,但其种子细小,且农吉利生物碱含量较低(0.2％),不足应用。为了扩大药用资源,我们根据植物亲缘关系和化学成     

长梗千里光中的呋喃雅槛兰型倍半萜

长梗千里光（ＳｅｎｅｃｉｏｋａｓｃｈｋａｒｏｖｉｉＣ．Ｗｉｎｋｌ．）为菊科千里光属的多年生草本植物,广布于甘肃省东南部的灌木丛中及林边草地,四川、青海也有分布［１］。其化学成分未见报道。千里光属植物的主要成分是双稠吡咯啶生物碱和呋喃雅槛兰型倍半萜［２,３］。前者具有抗癌活性,但也有致癌、致畸等毒性［４］。我们从长梗千里光的地上部分分离到两个呋喃雅槛兰型倍半萜（１）和（２）,通过ＵＶ、ＩＲ、ＭＳ、１Ｈ－ＮＭＲ和１３Ｃ－ＮＭＲ等光谱分析,确定化合物１为１α－乙酰氧基－６β－当归酰氧基－１０β－羟基－…     

苯骈菲啶类生物碱在中国罂粟科和芸香科一些属中的分布初探

苯骈菲啶(benzophenanthridine)类生物碱是一类天然有机化合物。至今所发现的这类生物碱的种类虽然不多,但生理活性较强,较为广泛。据文献报道,有镇痛、镇静抗菌,抗肿瘤等主要作用。这类生物碱的     

Designing universal primers for the isolation of DNA sequences encoding Proanthocyanidins biosynthetic enzymes in Crataegus aronia

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Hawthorn is the common name of all plant species in the genus Crataegus, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. Crataegus are considered useful medicinal plants because of their high content of proanthocyanidins (PAs) and other related compounds. To improve PAs production in Crataegus tissues, the sequences of genes encoding PAs biosynthetic enzymes are required. FINDINGS: Different bioinformatics tools, including BLAST, multiple sequence alignment and alignment PCR analysis were used to design primers suitable for the amplification of DNA fragments from 10 candidate genes encoding enzymes involved in PAs biosynthesis in C. aronia. DNA sequencing results proved the utility of the designed primers. The primers were used successfully to amplify DNA fragments of different PAs biosynthesis genes in different Rosaceae plants. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first use of the alignment PCR approach to isolate DNA sequences encoding PAs biosynthetic enzymes in Rosaceae plants.     

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene causes oxidative stress and alters polyamine metabolism in the aquatic liverwort Riccia fluitans L

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) phenanthrene (PHEN) is a highly toxic pollutant, commonly found in aquatic environments, the effects of which on aquatic plants have not been studied in depth. As PAHs are known to induce oxidative stress and recent studies have shown that polyamines (PAs) participate in the defence reactions protecting plants against environmental stresses, PA metabolism and oxidative damage were investigated in the aquatic form of the liverwort Riccia fluitans L. exposed to PHEN. Exposure of Riccia fluitans plants to PHEN at concentrations of 0.5 microm or less induced oxidative stress, but at a level from which plants could recover. Despite increased levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, recovery appeared, at least in part, due to increased synthesis of PAs, achieved via increased activities of the enzymes arginine decarboxylase (ADC) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC). Chemical inhibition of these enzymes inhibited plant recovery, while treatment with PAs aided recovery. Finally, as chloroplasts and the plasma membrane appeared to be key targets for PHEN-induced damage, the potential roles of PAs in protecting these cellular components were considered. How PAs could protect plant cells from serious environmental pollutants such as PHEN and could prevent oxidative stress is discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of a Laccase gene potentially involved in proanthocyanidin polymerization in oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) fruit

Proanthocyanidins (PAs, condensed tannins) are important health-promoting phytochemicals that are abundant in many plants. Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is an excellent source of PAs because of its unique ability to accumulate large quantities of these compounds in its young fruit. There are two different spontaneous mutant phenotypes of oriental persimmons which lose their astringent taste naturally on the tree; while plants without these mutations remain rich in soluble PAs until the fruit fully ripened. The mutations are referred to as pollination-constant non-astringent genotypes named J-PCNA and C-PCNA, and are from Japan and China respectively. In this work we speculated that the loss of astringency in C-PCNA fruit is due to the soluble PAs transferred into insoluble upon polymerization, which was quite different from that of the J-PCNA. A DkLAC1 gene was isolated by the homology-based clone method. The predicted protein product of this gene showed that the DkLAC1 is a plant laccase which is phylogenetically related to the known enzyme AtLAC15 involved in the polymerization of PAs. Expression patterns of PAs biosynthetic genes associated with soluble PAs contents in three types of Oriental persimmons. Expression levels of DkLAC1 in C-PCNA type plants were linked with the reduction of soluble PAs in the flesh of the fruit. In addition the cis-elements in the DkLAC1 promoter regions indicated that the gene might also be regulated by the DkMYB4 as is seen with other well-known structural genes in Oriental persimmon. We conclude that DkLAC1 is potentially involved in PA polymerization in C-PCNA during normal ripening in C-PCNA persimmon.     

The genotype dependent presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids as tertiary amine in Jacobaea vulgaris

Secondary metabolites such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) play a crucial part in plant defense. PAs can occur in plants in two forms: tertiary amine (free base) and N-oxide. PA extraction and detection are of great importance for the understanding of the role of PAs as plant defense compounds, as the tertiary PA form is known for its stronger influence on several generalist insects, whereas the N-oxide form is claimed to be less deterrent. We measured PA N-oxides and their reduced tertiary amines by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We show that the occurrence of tertiary PAs is not an artifact of the extraction and detection method. We found up to 50% of tertiary PAs in shoots of Jacobine - chemotype plants of Jacobaea vulgaris. Jacobine and its derivatives (jacoline, jaconine, jacozine and dehydrojaconine) may occur for more than 20% in reduced form in the shoots and more than 10% in the roots. For 22 PAs detected in F(2) hybrids (J. vulgaris × Jacobaea aquatica), we calculate the tertiary amine percentage (TA%=the tertiary amine concentration/(tertiary amine concentration+the corresponding N-oxide concentration) × 100). We found that the TA% for various PAs was genotype-dependent. Furthermore, TA% for the different PAs were correlated and the highest correlations occurred between PAs which share high structural similarity.     

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: different acquisition and use patterns in Apocynaceae and Solanaceae feeding ithomiine butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) often serve as chemical mediators of plant-herbivore-predator interactions. Butterflies (Danainae and Ithomiinae) and moths (Arctiidae) usually acquire PAs from plant sources (larval host plants, flowers or withered leaves visited by adults—pharmacophagy) and thereby become chemically protected against predators; they also use PAs as pheromone precursors. Study by GC-MS of PAs in three species of Ithomiinae butterflies, their larval host plants and adult alkaloid sources showed three different acquisition patterns: (1) larvae of the primitive Tithorea harmonia sequester PAs from their food plant Prestonia acutifolia (Apocynaceae: Echitoideae), and adults may also acquire these alkaloids from plant sources; (2) larvae of the more derived Aeria olena feed on Prestonia coalita , in whose leaves no PAs were detected, but freshly emerged adults sometimes contain PAs and males intensively seek and sequester these alkaloids in plant sources; and (3) larvae of the still more advanced Mechanitis polymnia feed on several PA-free Solanum species, and adult males sequester the alkaloids from various plant sources. Males and females of all three species contain mostly two PAs, the diastereoisomeric retronecine monoesters lycopsamine and intermedine, stored in the N-oxide form. Larval host plants and adult plant sources showed a large array of PA structures, the most abundant and frequent being lycopsamine and its diastereoisomers intermedine, echinatine, rinderine and indicine, and the deoxy-analogues supinine and amabiline. Bioassays with wild caught and freshly emerged adults suggest that protection against predation by the orb weaving spider Nephila clavipes may be dependent on PA concentration and maybe some spider idiosyncrasies, but freshly emerged Aeria olena without PAs are also liberated by Nephila , suggesting other protective compounds. The role of this spider as a selective pressure for PA acquisition by ithomiines is not clear.     

Attract and deter: a dual role for pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plant–insect interactions

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are the major defense compounds of plants in the Senecio genus. Here I will review the effects of PAs in Senecio on the preference and performance of specialist and generalist insect herbivores. Specialist herbivores have evolved adaptation to PAs in their host plant. They can use the alkaloids as cue to find their host plant and often they sequester PAs for their own defense against predators. Generalists, on the other hand, can be deterred by PAs. PAs can also affect survival of generalist herbivores. Usually generalist insects avoid feeding on young Senecio leaves, which contain a high concentration of alkaloids. Structurally related PAs can differ in their effects on insect herbivores, some are more toxic than others. The differences in effects of PAs on specialist and generalists could lead to opposing selection on PAs, which may maintain the genetic diversity in PA concentration and composition in Senecio species.     

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in human diet.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are the leading plant toxins associated with disease in humans and animals. Upon ingestion, metabolic activation in liver converts the parent compounds into highly reactive electrophiles capable of reacting with cellular macromolecules forming adducts which may initiate acute or chronic toxicity. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids present a serious health risk to human populations that may be exposed to them through contamination of foodstuffs or when plants containing them are consumed as medicinal herbs. Some pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) adducts are persistent in animal tissue and the metabolites may be re-released and cause damage long after the initial period of ingestion. PAs are also known to act as teratogens and abortifacients. Chronic ingestion of plants containing PAs has also led to cancer in experimental animals and metabolites of several PAs have been shown to be mutagenic in the Salmonella typhimurium/mammalian microsome system. However, no clinical association has yet been found between human cancer and exposure to PAs. Based on the extensive reports on the outcome of human exposure available in the literature, we conclude that while humans face the risk of veno-occlusive disease and childhood cirrhosis PAs are not carcinogenic to humans.     

Enhancement of stress tolerance in cucumber seedlings by proanthocyanidins

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are the main products of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in many plants. However, their biological function during environmental stresses in plants is rarely reported. In the present study, the effects of pretreatment with PAs on the response of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings to high irradiance (HI), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and cold stress were investigated. The PAs pretreament alleviated stress-induced oxidative damage in plant cells and increased the activity of alternative oxidase (AOX) and content of abscisic acid (ABA). Furthermore, PAs-pretreated seedlings suffered less damage by the stress conditions, maintained higher content of chlorophyll a+b and AOX proteins in comparison with the control. Therefore, our findings suggest that PAs might contribute to plant tolerance to environmental stresses.