植物三萜皂苷生物合成途径及调控机制研究进展

三萜皂苷是一类天然存在的结构多样的三萜苷类化合物,广泛分布于植物中.三萜皂苷不仅是植物抵御病原微生物和食草动物的防御化合物,还具有多种药理活性,被广泛应用在医药、日化、食品、农业等领域.近年来,随着科学技术的发展和研究的深入,植物三萜皂苷生物合成途径的基本框架及调控机制研究已经取得了一定的进展.植物三萜皂苷种类繁多、结...     

甘草皂苷类化合物结构与保肝活性关系的DFT研究

三萜皂苷类化合物是中药甘草保肝作用的主要药效物质。本文以甘草中的三种皂苷类化合物甘草酸、单葡萄糖醛基甘草次酸和甘草次酸为研究对象,采用密度泛函理论方法(DFT)在B3LYP/6-31+G~*水平上,对三萜皂苷类化合物进行量子化学计算。依据化合物的几何结构、NPA电荷、偶极矩、溶剂化能和前线轨道能等参数,分析甘草中皂苷类化合物的结构与保肝活性之间的关系,以期对中药甘草的深入研究与开发提供理论基础。计算结果表明,三种甘草皂苷类化合物的活性部位在五环三萜上,而糖环不是其药理活性部位,但是糖环的结构和数目会影响药物分子的理化性质。根据前线分子轨道能级之差ΔE值可知,三种化合物的保肝活性顺序为:GAGAMGGL。     

威灵仙中的三萜皂苷类成分及其抗关节炎作用机制的研究进展

威灵仙为毛茛科铁线莲属植物威灵仙(Clematis chinensis Osbeck.)、棉团铁线莲(Clematis hexapetala Pall.)或东北铁线莲(Clematis manshurica Rupr.)的干燥根和根茎。近年来,随着对威灵仙化学成分和药理活性研究的深入,其三萜皂苷类成分在治疗类风湿关节炎(RA)和骨关节(OA)方面的作用已得到充分证实。为了科学合理的利用该药材,本文对药典收载的三种威灵仙药材中三萜皂苷类成分的分布及其抗关节炎的药理机制进行了概述。     

竹节参的化学成分与药理活性研究进展

竹节参属于五加科人参属植物,以横卧呈竹鞭状根茎入药.竹节参化学成分主要为三萜皂苷类,其中齐墩果烷型皂苷含量最高.除此之外还有多糖类、氨基酸、无机元素和多炔类等,药理活性研究表明竹节参具有保肝、保护心脏、降血脂、抗疲劳、增强免疫和抗肿瘤等作用.对竹节参的化学成分和药理活性进行了综述和总结,以期为竹节参的深入研究和开发利用...     

猪牙皂的化学成分和药理活性研究进展

猪牙皂主要含有多种三萜皂苷,具有抗炎、抗过敏、抗肿瘤、抗病毒、改善心肌缺血等药理活性.就近年来的研究成果作一综述,为猪牙皂的进一步开发和利用提供科学依据.     

百两金皂苷类似物的化学与药理学研究进展

对百两金皂苷类似物的化学和药理活性进行文献综述。迄今报道的百两金皂苷类似物大约有60个,其齐墩果烷三萜母核上具有多种与生物活性有关的特征取代基,包括13β,28-环醚、30-氧化甲基和3-O-糖链等。该类物质多具抗肿瘤、抗炎和抗真菌等药理活性,值得深入研究。     

基于外翻肠囊模型大鼠吸收的中药毛冬青三萜皂苷类成分电喷雾多级质谱快速分析研究

建立快速发现毛冬青三萜总皂苷主要吸收成分的外翻肠囊模型法,确定毛冬青总皂苷在体吸收的活性成分。采用大鼠外翻肠囊模型,收集毛冬青总皂苷给药后的肠囊液样品,采用电喷雾多级质谱快速、全面分析毛冬青三萜皂苷类成分在小肠的吸收。通过全扫描电喷雾多级质谱对肠囊液样品进行分析,并结合文献报道,确定皂苷的结构。在肠囊中检测到5个三萜皂苷,依次为:ilexoside O(5)、ilexoside K(4)、ilexoside J(3)、ilexoside E(8)和pedunculoside(13)。电喷雾多级质谱检测条件下,发现毛冬青总皂苷肠吸收的主要成分是三萜皂苷类成分,肠吸收的其它成分有待于进一步研究。     

植物源UDP-糖基转移酶及其分子改造*

糖基化能够增加化合物的结构多样性,有效改善水溶性、药理活性和生物利用度,对植物天然产物的药物开发至关重要。UDP-糖基转移酶(UGTs)能够催化糖基从活化的核苷酸糖供体转移到受体形成糖苷键,植物中天然产物的糖基化修饰主要通过UGTs实现。但是大多数天然UGTs的催化活性、稳定性和底物特异性较低,难以满足工业用酶的要求,限制了它们的工业化应用。近年来,通过分子改造技术改进天然UGTs的催化特性取得了突破性的研究进展。为此,概述了植物源UGTs的挖掘与表征、三维结构和催化机制,归纳了UGTs分子改造的思路和方法,包括理性设计和定向进化,重点介绍了结构域替换、序列保守分析和结构分析与定点突变的结合,总结了定向进化中的高通量筛选方法,为植物天然产物酶法糖基化的工业应用提供了参考和借鉴。     

猪牙皂的化学成分和药理活性研究进展

猪牙皂主要含有多种三萜皂苷,具有抗炎、抗过敏、抗肿瘤、抗病毒、改善心肌缺血等药理活性。就近年来的研究成果作一综述,为猪牙皂的进一步开发和利用提供科学依据。     

植物三萜皂苷生物合成中关键后修饰酶研究进展

三萜皂苷是由三萜苷元、糖基、糖醛酸等组成的C30萜类化合物,是许多药用植物的主要活性成分,具有广泛的药理作用。三萜皂苷的生物合成包括前体和三萜皂苷骨架的形成以及调控皂苷结构多样性的后修饰。三萜皂苷的后修饰包括三萜骨架的氧化/羟基化和糖基化,分别由不同超基因家族编码的细胞色素P450单加氧酶和糖基转移酶进行催化。三萜皂苷通过后修饰最终可形成多种单体皂苷。目前,已在少数植物中识别和确认了个别与三萜皂苷生物合成相关的关键后修饰酶,发现了部分很可能参与后修饰过程的候选基因。该文就近年来国内外有关三萜皂苷生物合成途径关键后修饰酶的研究进行综述,为进一步开展相关研究和对合成精细途径的解析提供参考。     

Molecular activities, biosynthesis and evolution of triterpenoid saponins

Saponins are bioactive compounds generally considered to be produced by plants to counteract pathogens and herbivores. Besides their role in plant defense, saponins are of growing interest for drug research as they are active constituents of several folk medicines and provide valuable pharmacological properties. Accordingly, much effort has been put into unraveling the modes of action of saponins, as well as in exploration of their potential for industrial processes and pharmacology. However, the exploitation of saponins for bioengineering crop plants with improved resistances against pests as well as circumvention of laborious and uneconomical extraction procedures for industrial production from plants is hampered by the lack of knowledge and availability of genes in saponin biosynthesis. Although the ability to produce saponins is rather widespread among plants, a complete synthetic pathway has not been elucidated in any single species. Current conceptions consider saponins to be derived from intermediates of the phytosterol pathway, and predominantly enzymes belonging to the multigene families of oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs), cytochromes P450 (P450s) and family 1 UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are thought to be involved in their biosynthesis. Formation of unique structural features involves additional biosynthetical enzymes of diverse phylogenetic background. As an example of this, a serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferase (SCPL) was recently found to be involved in synthesis of triterpenoid saponins in oats. However, the total number of identified genes in saponin biosynthesis remains low as the complexity and diversity of these multigene families impede gene discovery based on sequence analysis and phylogeny.This review summarizes current knowledge of triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis in plants, molecular activities, evolutionary aspects and perspectives for further gene discovery.     

三叶木通转录组分析及三萜皂苷生物合成途径关键酶基因的发掘

为了解三叶木通(Akebia trifoliata(Thunb.)Koidz.)的三萜皂苷合成途径及其关键酶,本研究对其花、叶、根、茎进行转录组测序,组装获得了57.25 Gb数据,含140 859个unigenes,序列平均长度为1350 bp。KEGG代谢通路富集结果显示,517个unigenes参与三萜皂苷合成相关的3条代谢途径,其中415个unigenes编码三萜皂苷生物合成途径的19个关键酶。对三萜皂苷生物合成过程中的关键酶角鲨烯环氧酶(SE)进行序列分析和同源建模,发现其具有保守的底物结合结构域。将三叶木通茎与花、叶、根的基因表达水平进行比较,发现茎与根相比较其上调基因数目最多,其中295个差异表达基因(DEGs)与三萜皂苷生物合成途径相关。     

Saponins in cereals

Saponins are a diverse family of secondary metabolites that are produced by many plant species, particularly dicots. These molecules commonly have potent antifungal activity and their natural role in plants is likely to be in protection against attack by pathogenic microbes. They also have a variety of commercial applications including use as drugs and medicines. The enzymes, genes and biochemical pathways involved in the synthesis of these complex molecules are largely uncharacterized for any plant species. Cereals and grasses appear to be generally deficient in saponins with the exception of oats, which produce both steroidal and triterpenoid saponins. The isolation of genes for saponin biosynthesis from oats is now providing tools for the analysis of the evolution and regulation of saponin biosynthesis in monocots. These genes may also have potential for the development of improved disease resistance in cultivated cereals.     

人参皂苷生物合成和次生代谢工程

人参皂苷属于植物三萜皂苷类化合物,是传统名贵药材人参和西洋参的主要活性成分,具有抗炎、抗氧化作用,还有广泛的抗肿瘤作用。人参皂苷与植物甾醇共享前期代谢途径,通过2, 3-氧化鲨烯环化步骤进入三萜代谢分支途径,在三萜碳环骨架复杂修饰的基础上形成人参皂苷。综述了近年人参皂苷生物合成途径及关键酶基因研究的最新进展,揭示了人参皂苷生物合成的基本途径,对途径中关键酶的基因进行了综述,并结合次生代谢工程技术, 探讨了该技术在人参皂苷生物合成中的应用前景。     

A tandem array of UDP-glycosyltransferases from the UGT73C subfamily glycosylate sapogenins,forming a spectrum of mono- and bisdesmosidic saponins

Key message

This study identifies six UGT73Cs all able to glucosylate sapogenins at positions 3 and/or 28 which demonstrates that B. vulgaris has a much richer arsenal of UGTs involved in saponin biosynthesis than initially anticipated.

Abstract

The wild cruciferous plant Barbarea vulgaris is resistant to some insects due to accumulation of two monodesmosidic triterpenoid saponins, oleanolic acid 3-O-β-cellobioside and hederagenin 3-O-β-cellobioside. Insect resistance depends on the structure of the sapogenin aglycone and the glycosylation pattern. The B. vulgaris saponin profile is complex with at least 49 saponin-like metabolites, derived from eight sapogenins and including up to five monosaccharide units. Two B. vulgaris UDP-glycosyltransferases, UGT73C11 and UGT73C13, O-glucosylate sapogenins at positions 3 and 28, forming mainly 3-O-β-d-glucosides. The aim of this study was to identify UGTs responsible for the diverse saponin oligoglycoside moieties observed in B. vulgaris. Twenty UGT genes from the insect resistant genotype were selected and heterologously expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana and/or Escherichia coli. The extracts were screened for their ability to glycosylate sapogenins (oleanolic acid, hederagenin), the hormone 24-epibrassinolide and sapogenin monoglucosides (hederagenin and oleanolic acid 3-O-β-d-glucosides). Six UGTs from the UGT73C subfamily were able to glucosylate both sapogenins and both monoglucosides at positions 3 and/or 28. Some UGTs formed bisdesmosidic saponins efficiently. At least four UGT73C genes were localized in a tandem array with UGT73C11 and possibly UGT73C13. This organization most likely reflects duplication events followed by sub- and neofunctionalization. Indeed, signs of positive selection on several amino acid sites were identified and modelled to be localized on the UGT protein surface. This tandem array is proposed to initiate higher order bisdesmosidic glycosylation of B. vulgaris saponins, leading to the recently discovered saponin structural diversity, however, not directly to known cellobiosidic saponins.

     

Oleanolic acid

Oleanolic acid (3β-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound with a widespread occurrence throughout the plant kingdom. In nature, the compound exists either as a free acid or as an aglycone precursor for triterpenoid saponins, in which it can be linked to one or more sugar chains. Oleanolic acid and its derivatives possess several promising pharmacological activities, such as hepatoprotective effects, and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, or anticancer activities. With the recent elucidation of its biosynthesis and the imminent commercialization of the first oleanolic acid-derived drug, the compound promises to remain important for various studies. In this review, the recent progress in understanding the oleanolic acid biosynthesis and its pharmacology are discussed. Furthermore, the importance and potential application of synthetic oleanolic acid derivatives are highlighted, and research perspectives on oleanolic acid are given.