不同产地黄芩中无机元素含量及其与根际土壤无机元素的关系

药用植物中各无机元素含量的不仅影响药用植物的生长发育,也是药材有效成分的构成因子。通过对全国范围内16个不同产地(即居群)的92个野生黄芩(Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi)样本及其相应的根际土壤中10种无机元素含量的分析,发现不同产地黄芩及其根际土壤无机元素都有很大变异,且不同产地黄芩根际土壤中无机元素的变异远大于黄芩药材中无机元素的变异。总体来看,黄芩中Mg(9级)含量较其他植物含量高;P(1级)、K(2级)、Mn(3级)含量与其他植物相比处处较低水平;黄芩对Sr(富集系数达到3.52)有较强富集。并且通过无机元素分布曲线分析建立了无机元素指纹谱,主成分分析筛选出黄芩主要特征无机元素为Mg、K、Ca、Fe、Zn。本研究还表明,黄芩对各元素的吸收能力受产地的影响较大,提示黄芩对无机元素的吸收与各产地根际土壤无机元素有一定关联性。     

Comparative analysis of flavonoids and polar metabolites from hairy roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Scutellaria lateriflora

Baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin were accumulated in hairy roots derived from Scutellaria lateriflora and Scutellaria baicalensis. The levels of baicalein and baicalin were 6.8 and 5.0 times higher, respectively, in S. baicalensis than in S. lateriflora. A total of 47 metabolites were detected and identified in Scutellaria species by GC-TOF MS. The metabolites from the two species were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate differences. PCA fully distinguished between the two species. The results showed that individual phenolic acids and phenylalanine, precursors for the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway, were higher in S. baicalensis than in S. lateriflora. This GC-TOF MS-based metabolic profiling approach was a viable alternative method to differentiate metabolic profiles between species.     

Relationships of latitude,altitude, and body size to litter size and mean annual production of offspring inPeromyscus

Litter size was positively correlated with latitude and altitude but not with production of offspring or with body size in Peromyscus. Increased litter size in northern populations probably reflects shortening the breeding season by climate and not a greater mortality rate at northern latitudes compared to southern latitudes. Production of offspring was negatively correlated with body size but not with latitude, altitude, or litter size. This is probably due to larger species living longer and taking longer to mature.     

Assessing the suitable cultivation areas for Scutellaria baicalensis in China using the Maxent model and multiple linear regression

Cultivating medical plants is an efficient way not only to meet the increasingly high demand for plant-based drugs but also to protect wild populations from overexploitation. The environments of cultivation areas should be suitable for both plant growth and accumulation of bioactive constituents. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Huang-qin or Chinese skullcap) is a widely used herb that is suffering rapid population decline in China. To promote better cultivation of this herb, this paper reports a new approach for predicting potentially suitable cultivation areas and for building a mathematical relationship between environmental factors and the active ingredient content in S. baicalensis using the Maxent model and multiple linear regression. The results showed that extreme temperatures and precipitation had considerable impacts on the potential distribution of S. baicalensis. Higher annual mean temperature, precipitation seasonality, and lower isotherms contributed to higher baicalin content. The potential cultivation areas for S. baicalensis were mainly distributed in northeast China. Northeastern Inner Mongolia, part of Hebei and the regions in southwestern Liaoning Province were found to be highly suitable for cultivating S. baicalensis in China. The results of this study can allow growers and pharmaceutical companies to identify suitable areas for planting herbs, which could prevent the blind cultivation of this species in unsuitable habitats while ensuring the quality of S. baicalensis.     

Variation in the latitudinal reproductive patterns of the genus Didelphis (Didelphimorphia:Didelphidae)

Abstract: The data published on reproduction of the species of the genus Didelphis (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) were compiled and analysed to identify general patterns. The duration of the breeding season for the Didelphis species varied from 12 months near the Equator to 6 months at latitude 25°S and varied inversely with latitude and litter size. The mean litter size varied from 4.2 in Colombia to 9.4 in New York and was positively associated with latitude and negatively with the duration of breeding season. We propose that the higher investment in production at higher latitudes was compensated by increased mortality owing to the seasonal variation in food availability and environmental variables in theses latitudes.     

Latitudinal variation in plant size and relative growth rate in Arabidopsis thaliana

Latitude is an important determinant of local environmental conditions that affect plant growth. Forty ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana were selected from a wide range of latitudes (from 16°N to 63°N) to investigate genetic variation in plant size and relative growth rate (RGR) along a latitudinal gradient. Plants were grown in a greenhouse for 31 days, during which period three consecutive harvests were performed. Plants from high latitudes tended to have smaller plant size in terms of seed size, cotyledon width, rosette size, number of rosette leaves, size (leaf area) of the largest leaves, total leaf area, and total dry weight per plant than those from low latitudes. The mean (±SE) RGR across ecotypes was 0.229 (±0.0013) day⁻¹. There was, however, significant ecotypic variation, with RGR being negatively correlated with latitude. The two main components of RGR, leaf area ratio (LAR) and unit leaf rate (ULR), were also correlated with latitude: LAR increased with increasing latitude while ULR decreased with increasing latitude. It was also found that RGR tended to be negatively correlated with LAR, specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length (SRL) but to be positively correlated with mean area per leaf (MAL) and ULR. The variation in RGR among ecotypes was relatively small compared with that in the other traits. RGR may be a conservative trait, whose variation is constrained by the trade-off between its physiological (i.e. ULR) and morphological (i.e. LAR) components. Received: 2 November 1997 / Accepted: 28 February 1998     

Serpula lacrymans reacts with a general,unspecialized chemical response during interaction with mycoparasitic Trichoderma spp. and bacteria

Serpula lacrymans causes structural damage in timber via cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition. Serpula lacrymans shares its habitat with bacteria and fungi, interactions that often result in stress and changed behaviour of the partners. A typical response to environmental stress is the production of bioactive metabolites and pigments. The diversity and function of these metabolites in inter- and intra-kingdom interactions, is largely elusive. Using dual culture approaches and secondary metabolite fingerprinting with high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) it was demonstrated that stress induces an unspecific vs. Similar metabolite patterns were identified when S. lacrymans was co-cultured with different bacteria and mycoparasitic fungi (Trichoderma spp.). By analysing the metabolites produced along the gradient from the contact zone to more remote parts of the mycelium, we show a systemic reaction of S. lacrymans and that direct contact with other microbes is not a necessity to induce secondary metabolites.     

Comparative Genome Analysis of Scutellaria baicalensis and Scutellaria barbata Reveals the Evolution of Active Flavonoid Biosynthesis

Scutellaria baicalensis (S. baicalensis) and Scutellaria barbata (S. barbata) are common medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family. Both produce specific flavonoid compounds, including baicalein, scutellarein, norwogonin, and wogonin, as well as their glycosides, which exhibit antioxidant and antitumor activities. Here, we report chromosome-level genome assemblies of S. baicalensis and S. barbata with quantitative chromosomal variation (2n = 18 and 2n = 26, respectively). The divergence of S. baicalensis and S. barbata occurred far earlier than previously reported, and a whole-genome duplication (WGD) event was identified. The insertion of long terminal repeat elements after speciation might be responsible for the observed chromosomal expansion and rearrangement. Comparative genome analysis of the congeneric species revealed the species-specific evolution of chrysin and apigenin biosynthetic genes, such as the S. baicalensis-specific tandem duplication of genes encoding phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chalcone synthase, and the S. barbata-specific duplication of genes encoding 4-CoA ligase. In addition, the paralogous duplication, colinearity, and expression diversity of CYP82D subfamily members revealed the functional divergence of genes encoding flavone hydroxylase between S. baicalensis and S. barbata. Analyzing these Scutellaria genomes reveals the common and species-specific evolution of flavone biosynthetic genes. Thus, these findings would facilitate the development of molecular breeding and studies of biosynthesis and regulation of bioactive compounds.     

α-Pyrones,secondary metabolites from fungus Cephalotrichum microsporum and their bioactivities

Cephalotrichum microsporum (SYP-F 7763) was a fungus isolated from the rhizosphere soil of traditional Chinese medicine Panax notoginseng. The EtOAc extract of Cephalotrichum microsporum cultivated on sterilized moistened-rice medium was separated by various chromatographic techniques, which yielded 11 metabolites (1–11) of this fungus. On the basis of the widely spectroscopic data, the chemical structures of isolated metabolites were determined, most of which were α-pyrones, including 5 compounds (4–7, and 10) unreported. In the anti-bacterial bioassay, compound 1 displayed significant inhibitory effects on three pathogenic bacteria, MR S. aureus, S. aureus, and B. cereus. α-Pyrones 2, 3, and 5–7 also displayed moderate inhibitory effects on MR S. aureus, S. aureus, and B. subtilis, which could be the major anti-bacterial constituents of Cephalotrichum microsporum. Additionally, compounds 1, 4, and 5 displayed significant cytotoxicity on five human cancer cell lines, with the IC₅₀ values < 20 μM, which are more effective than positive control 5-fluorouracil. Therefore, α-pyrones were important secondary metabolites of Cephalotrichum microsporum, which displayed anti-bacterial and anti-tumor activities.     

Chrysobalanaceae: secondary metabolites, ethnopharmacology and pharmacological potential

Many Chrysobalanaceae species, in special Licania and Parinari, are widely used in folk medicine to treat several diseases. This review describes some aspects of their ethnopharmacology potential, biological activities and the secondary metabolites reported so far for Chrysobalanaceae. The chemical constituents of this family include triterpenoids, diterpenoids, steroids and phenylpropanoids like flavonoids as well as chromones derivatives.     

6种植物次生物质对斜纹夜蛾解毒酶活性的影响

草食性昆虫取食植物时遇到宿主植物中大量次生物质的化学防御,研究昆虫适应植物毒素的反防御策略具有重要的科学意义。分别添加0.01%肉桂酸、0.01%水杨酸、0.01%花椒毒素、0.02%槲皮素、0.05%黄酮和0.1%香豆素等6种植物次生物质的人工饲料饲养斜纹夜蛾(Spodoptera litura)五龄幼虫48 h后,测定斜纹夜蛾幼虫中肠和脂肪体中谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(GSTs)、羧酸酯酶(CarE)、P450的酶含量及头部乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)的活性,利用半定量RT-PCR检测中肠和脂肪体中CYP4M14和CYP4S9的基因表达水平。结果表明:取食肉桂酸和香豆素后,斜纹夜蛾中肠中CarE的酶活性分别提高了1.67和1.37倍,取食6种次生物质均能显著提高斜纹夜蛾脂肪体中GSTs酶活性。取食肉桂酸和香豆素48 h后,脂肪体中P450酶含量比对照增加2.93和14.50倍。取食肉桂酸、花椒毒素、槲皮素和香豆素后,斜纹夜蛾头部AchE酶活性与对照相比提高了1.53、1.80、2.36和1.56倍。6种次生物质均可诱导脂肪体中CYP4M14基因表达,槲皮素、肉桂酸和香豆素强烈诱导CYP4S9在脂肪体中表达。表明,斜纹夜蛾具有利用植物次生物质诱导其解毒酶的能力,进而提高其对毒素的抗性。     

氮素对短葶飞蓬生长和次生代谢产物积累的影响

以不同氮素供应对短葶飞蓬(Erigeron breviscapus)进行了人工栽培试验,探讨氮素对药用植物生长和次生代谢产物含量及产量的影响作用规律.结果显示:氮素施用量与短葶飞蓬植株生物量呈极显著的正相关;而与灯盏乙素和总咖啡酸酯含量则表现出显著的负相关;对总咖啡酸酯和灯盏乙素的产量没有显著的促进作用.植株灯盏乙素和总咖啡酸酯含量与生物量呈现极显著的负相关;与植株含氮量也存在极显著的负线性关系,变化规律与"碳素/营养平衡假说"预测的一致.研究表明,植株生长与次生代谢有效成分积累间存在一定的权衡关系,过多的施用氮肥提高药材产量时将会导致黄酮等酚类次生代谢有效成分含量下降.     

Species specificity of symbiosis and secondary metabolism in ascidians

Ascidians contain abundant, diverse secondary metabolites, which are thought to serve a defensive role and which have been applied to drug discovery. It is known that bacteria in symbiosis with ascidians produce several of these metabolites, but very little is known about factors governing these ‘chemical symbioses''. To examine this phenomenon across a wide geographical and species scale, we performed bacterial and chemical analyses of 32 different ascidians, mostly from the didemnid family from Florida, Southern California and a broad expanse of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Bacterial diversity analysis showed that ascidian microbiomes are highly diverse, and this diversity does not correlate with geographical location or latitude. Within a subset of species, ascidian microbiomes are also stable over time (R=−0.037, P-value=0.499). Ascidian microbiomes and metabolomes contain species-specific and location-specific components. Location-specific bacteria are found in low abundance in the ascidians and mostly represent strains that are widespread. Location-specific metabolites consist largely of lipids, which may reflect differences in water temperature. By contrast, species-specific bacteria are mostly abundant sequenced components of the microbiomes and include secondary metabolite producers as major components. Species-specific chemicals are dominated by secondary metabolites. Together with previous analyses that focused on single ascidian species or symbiont type, these results reveal fundamental properties of secondary metabolic symbiosis. Different ascidian species have established associations with many different bacterial symbionts, including those known to produce toxic chemicals. This implies a strong selection for this property and the independent origin of secondary metabolite-based associations in different ascidian species. The analysis here streamlines the connection of secondary metabolite to producing bacterium, enabling further biological and biotechnological studies.     

Chemical constituents and chemotaxonomic study on the marine actinomycete Williamsia sp. MCCC 1A11233

The marine actinomycete Williamsia sp. MCCC 1A11233 was isolated from a deep sea sediment sample of the southwestern Indian Ocean. It was closely related to Williamsia limnetica L1505^T with a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity value of 99.2%. A systematic investigation on its chemical constituents was performed in this study, which led to the isolation of one new (1) and 23 known (2–24) secondary metabolites. By mainly detailed analysis of the 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data and comparisons with the published data, the chemical structure of 1 was determined to be 3-benzyl-3α,4β-dihydroxypentan-2-one. Noteworthily, the question on which family Williamsia species should belong to was left unsolved at the first beginning when it was found in 1999. Interestingly, the result of this investigation consolidated that Williamsia should be placed a chemotaxonomic position in Nocardiaceae Family. Furthermore, 2-aminobenzoic acid derivatives (8–10) could be taken as chemotaxonomic markers for the genus of Williamsia.     

Bergmann’s rule for Neomys fodiens in the middle of the distribution range

The body size of Palearctic Sorex shrews decreases at higher latitudes, and as such the Bergmann’s rule does not work. However, no analysis has ever been done for water shrew (Neomys fodiens) in the middle of distribution range. Analysis of available literature data showed that some body and skull measurements of N. fodiens are negatively correlated to latitude. Measurements of 158 water shrews from Estonia and Lithuania were also analyzed with respect to the short scale latitudinal pattern. We found that populations are separated (Wilk’s lambda = 0.363, p<0.0001). Differences are related to PC1 (skull size), explaining 49.80% of the variance and PC2 (body size), explaining 10.06% of the variance. Estonian shrews are smaller in their body and skull (most differences significant) and their skulls are relatively shorter and wider in the area of the brain case. Thus, the negative correlation of body and skull size to latitude in N. fodiens is applicable even over quite short latitudinal distances. Further analysis of diagnostic characters between N. fodiens and N. anomalus is required.     

Effects of Nitrogen on the Growth and Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites of Erigeron breviscapus (Compositae)

Erigeron breviscapus a medicinal plant was planted under different nitrogen levels to investigate effects of nitrogen on the growth and the accumulation of secondary metabolites, address the relationship between them in medicinal plants in the plantation. Results showed that the amount of N fertilizer was significantly positively correlated with the biomass, but negatively to contents of total caffeates and scutellarin of Ebreviscapus Moreover, increasing amount of N fertilizer did not significantly enhance yields of 2 active constituents. The biomass was negatively correlated with contents of total caffeates and scutellarin. Contents of total caffeates and scutellarin were negatively correlated with contents of N in Ebreviscapus, as predicated by the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis. The result suggested that the nitrogen addition could increase the biomass yield, nevertheless, decrease active constituents ( flavonoids ),there could be a trade off between the growth and accumulation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants.     

Flavonoid and stilbenoid production in callus cultures of Artocarpus lakoocha

Callus cultures of Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb., established from seedling explants and maintained on woody plant medium containing 1 mg/l 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 1 mg/l benzyladenine, were studied for their chemical constituents and biosynthetic potential of secondary metabolites. Four prenylflavones and prenylated stilbenes, along with nine known polyphenolic compounds, were isolated and elucidated for their structures through extensive analysis of their NMR and MS data. Among the 13 isolates, it appeared that seven of them are prenylated derivatives of 5,7,2′,4′-tetrahydroxyflavones, and four are prenylated derivatives of 2,4,3′,5′-tetrahydroxystilbene (oxyresveratrol), suggesting that the biosynthetic pathways of these two polyphenolic groups and their prenylating enzymes are highly expressed in A. lakoocha callus cultures. A study on the growth-product relationship of the callus cultures showed that the secondary metabolites were all formed simultaneously during the rapid growth phase of the culture cycle, with various prenylflavones, and a prenylated stilbene as major constituents. In assays for DPPH free radical scavenging activity and tyrosinase inhibitory potential, the stilbenoids appeared to possess moderate effects, whereas the flavonoids showed only weak activity.     

Flavone-catalyzed apoptosis in Scutellaria baicalensis

In response to mechanical damage, roots of Scutellaria baicalensis undergo cell death within 24 h. The flavone baicalein was identified as the factor regulating apoptosis in the damaged roots of S. baicalensis. Plant apoptosis is known to be triggered by oxidative damage of DNA through oxidative bursts, whereas baicalein causes apoptosis in Scutellaria cells by a copper-dependent oxidation of nuclear DNA without inducing an oxidative burst. S. baicalensis possesses an interesting system for quickly producing this apoptosis-inducing flavone in its cells. Intact Scutellaria cells contain little baicalein but store a large amount of baicalin (baicalein 7-O-β-D-glucuronide). Stress treatment of Scutellaria cells immediately initiates hydrolysis of baicalin by endogenous β-glucuronidase, and the resulting baicalein is immediately translocated to the nucleus, leading to apoptosis. Thus, S. baicalensis possesses a unique apoptosis-inducing system that is linked with metabolism of baicalin.     

Secondary Metabolites,Glandular Trichomes and Biological Activity of Sideritis montana L. subsp. montana from Central Italy

Sideritis montana subsp. montana is a small annual herb occurring in countries bordering the Mediterranean and Balkan regions. The secondary metabolism of this plant has not been fully explored so far. The aim of the present study was to understand the complex mixture of secondary metabolites and the type of secretory structures. The polar constituents were isolated by column chromatography from the ethanolic extract, and their structure was elucidated by NMR and MS. The essential oil was isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC/MS. The plant indumentum was studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. To complete the work, the essential oil antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity on tumor cells were evaluated by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and MTT methods. Four different classes of secondary metabolites were isolated, namely flavonoids, caffeoylquinic derivatives, glycosidic hydroquinones and iridoids. The essential oil was mainly characterized by sesquiterpenene hydrocarbons. Peltate and long‐capitate hairs were the main sites where terpenes and polar constituents are produced. The secondary metabolites found in S. montana subsp. montana are of chemotaxonomic interest, some of them being typical of the genus Sideritis. The trichomes types observed partially differ from those described in other members of the genus Sideritis. The essential oil showed noteworthy inhibition on tumor cells.