我国海南仙人掌的成分分析及开发前景

本文对我国海南省的野生仙人掌（仙人掌科Haw仙人掌）中的蛋白质、氨基酸、糖类、维生素、黄酮以及矿物质元素和SOD活属于性等进行了测定。对小鼠进行的急性毒性试验表明,仙人掌冻干粉没有任何毒副作用,而抑菌试验表明,仙人掌的水提物和醇提物均有比较明显的抑制细胞的作用。参考目前国际上对仙人掌的开发研究经验,认为应该对海南仙人掌的营养成分、果胶成分、抑菌成分和抗氧化成分（SOD）等,从食品、保健品、药品等不同层次,分近、中、长期进行有计划地开发研究。     

关于仙人掌科植物的开花和结实

去年生物学通报所载的有关仙人掌科(Cactaceae)植物开花的情况,如江苏师范学院臧穆同志写的“昙花”及浙江省立金华中学胡步蟾同志写的“如何进行高中生物学课外研究小组的活动”两文。他们都认为仙人掌科植物开花是很稀奇的事,     

胭脂虫寄生前后梨果仙人掌挥发性物质的变化

为了研究胭脂虫Dactylopius coccus Costa寄生前后梨果仙人掌(Opuntia ficus-indica Mill)挥发性物质的变化,以动态顶空密闭循环吸附捕集法捕集胭脂虫寄生前后梨果仙人掌的挥发物,并运用全自动热脱附-气相色谱/质谱(ATD-GC/MS)联用技术进行分析检测,用峰面积归一化法测定其相对含量。结果表明,无虫梨果仙人掌的挥发物中共检测到8种化合物,有虫的梨果仙人掌中共检测到9种化合物,化合物的种类和含量都有一定的变化;萜烯类是植食昆虫诱导的植物挥发性次生物质中的主要成分,本试验中,萜烯类在胭脂虫寄生前后的含量由23.12%降为6.98%。在无虫仙人掌的挥发物中检测出苯甲醛,含量约占1.73%,有虫的仙人掌中则未检测到;同样在有虫仙人掌挥发物中检出的其他物质如酯类(21.15%)、醇类(1.79%)和卤代芳烃类(1.51%)物质在无虫仙人掌植株中都未检测出。     

Volatile changes of Opuntia ficus-indica Mill before and after parasitizing by Dactylopius coccus Costa

为了研究胭脂虫Dactylopius coccus Costa寄生前后梨果仙人掌(Opuntia ficus-indica Mill)挥发性物质的变化,以动态顶空密闭循环吸附捕集法捕集胭脂虫寄生前后梨果仙人掌的挥发物,并运用全自动热脱附-气相色谱/质谱(ATD-GC/MS)联用技术进行分析检测,用峰面积归一化法测定其相对含量.结果表明,无虫梨果仙人掌的挥发物中共检测到8种化合物,有虫的梨果仙人掌中共检测到9种化合物,化合物的种类和含量都有一定的变化;萜烯类是植食昆虫诱导的植物挥发性次生物质中的主要成分,本试验中,萜烯类在胭脂虫寄生前后的含量由23.12％降为6.98％.在无虫仙人掌的挥发物中检测出苯甲醛,含量约占1.73％,有虫的仙人掌中则未检测到;同样在有虫仙人掌挥发物中检出的其他物质如酯类(21.15％)、醇类(1.79％)和卤代芳烃类(1.51％)物质在无虫仙人掌植株中都未检测出.     

仙人掌超微粉挥发性成分研究

目的：研究仙人掌中的挥发性成分。方法：利用水蒸气蒸馏法提取经超微粉碎后的仙人掌[Opuntia dillenii（Ker-Gaw.）Haw]挥发油,用GC-MS进行测定,结合计算机检索技术对分离的化合物进行结构鉴定,应用色谱峰面积归一化法计算各成分的相对百分含量。结果：共分离鉴定出32个化学成分,占总成分的98.097%,其中相对百分含量大于2%的分别确定为异丁基邻苯二甲酸酯（Isobutyl phthalate）27.492%,棕榈酸（Palmitic acid）16.716%,丁基邻苯二甲酸酯（Butyl phthalate）11.257%,薄荷脑（Menthol）6.722%,亚油酸（Linoleic acid）5.995%,壬醛（Nonanal）4.594%,乙醛（Hexanal）3.614%,十二酸（Dodecanic acid）3.244%。结论：通过对仙人掌超微粉挥发性成分的分析鉴定及相对含量测定,为综合利用仙人掌植物资源等提供科学依据。     

奇趣无穷的仙人掌

仙人掌是仙人掌科的多年生常绿草木,原产于美洲和非洲的沙漠地区。为了适应干旱的生活环境,它改变了自身结构和生活方式,成为长相独特的一种植物。它的茎变得肉质多浆,可以贮藏大量的水分;它的叶片形为尖刺,如象牙琢成一般,金碧辉煌,可以大大减少水分蒸发;它的花千姿百态,绚丽多彩,或艳如杜鹃,或黄似金菊,或紫若浓霞。仙人掌以其独特风姿深得人们喜爱,不少人成了仙人掌迷,有些国家还成立了仙人掌爱好者组织。墨西哥被誉为“仙人掌王国”,世界上共有1000多个仙人掌品种,在墨西哥可以看到600种。墨西哥人对仙     

仙人掌保健菜肴

仙人掌不仅形态优美奇特、生命力旺盛，还具有很高的食用和药用价值。据分析，仙人掌的肉质茎含有蛋白质、树脂、酒石酸、琥珀酸、槲皮素－３－葡萄糖甙等多种有效成分。中医认为：仙人掌的性味苦、寒，具有行气活血、散瘀消肿、清热解毒、健胃止痛、镇咳的功效。它对金黄...     

仙人掌属植物的研究进展

对仙人掌属植物的化学成分和药理学研究进展进行了综述。其主要成分为黄酮类化合物、生物碱、多糖等;主要药理作用有抗炎、降血糖、抗病毒、抗菌等。     

天然真菌与人工发酵制品对免疫系统的影响研究概况

整理分析有关真菌及其生物技术制品生物活性的研究文献,发现真菌类中药资源丰富、品种繁多、成分复杂、药理作用广泛。目前已被动物实验或临床研究证实具有显著生物活性的主要成分是多糖类、三萜类、核苷类以及多肽类等天然化合物。尤其是作为真菌细胞结构物质的高分子多糖体对机体免疫系统具有显著的影响。如在保护机体免疫器官、增加免疫器官重量,以及对单核吞噬细胞系统、T细胞、B细胞、红细胞、NK细胞、LAK细胞、补体系统、白细胞介素、干扰素、集落刺激因子、肿瘤坏死因子及一氧化碳等多项或单项免疫功能具有显著的增强或调节作用。在抗病毒与抗肿瘤免疫等方面显示出自身特点和优势。虽然也有一些真菌及其提取物被证明对机体免疫功能具有显著的、与药物剂量相关的抑制作用,但并未发现对机体免疫器官或免疫细胞有任何的毒副反应。作者拟将20年来有关真菌及其提取物对机体免疫系统的影响研究文献进行了整理,并按免疫功能分类进行了综述,对相关问题在文后还作了讨论,以期为真菌类药物在医学上进行深入的临床研究与应用提供思路。     

《美国科学院院刊》:科学家发现减肥植物的有效成分及机制

<正>中国科学院上海药物研究所谢欣课题组与中国科学院上海有机化学研究所俞飚课题组合作,发现了减肥植物蝴蝶亚仙人掌的有效成分及减肥机制。研究论文于9月22日在线发表于《美国科学院院刊》上。有文献报道,蝴蝶亚仙人掌中的一个化合物P57是其抑制食欲的主要活性成分,但其作用机制并不清楚。研究团队通过大量化合物筛选发现一个提取自蝴蝶亚仙人掌的化合物Gordonoside F,而不是P57,可以特异性激活与代谢密切相关的G蛋白偶联受体GPR119。Gordonoside F通过激活GPR119刺激胰高血糖素样肽-1(GLP-1)和胰岛素的分泌,并抑制小鼠食欲。     

A new cyclolinopeptide containing nonproteinaceous amino acid N-methyl-4-aminoproline

We have found that besides the known cyclolinopeptides A (CLA) and B (CLB), there is a new cyclic peptide in linseed mill cake that we have named CLX. Its composition is very similar to that of CLA, a cyclic peptide with a distinct immunosuppressive activity. The sequence of this peptide has been established as cyclo(PPFFILLX), where X is a non-proteinaceous amino acid, N-methyl-4-aminoproline. This amino acid substitutes for two amino acid residues of CLA, mimicking a dipeptide moiety with a nonplanar cis amide bond. The non-proteinaceous amino acid X may mimic a transition state of the peptide bond which exists in such processes as, e.g., PPIase-catalysed cis/trans amide-Pro bond isomerisation.     

FITNESS SENSITIVITY AND THE CANALIZATION OF LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS

Canalization is an abstract term that describes unknown developmental mechanisms that reduce phenotypic variation. A trait can be canalized against environmental perturbations (e.g., changes in temperature or nutrient quality), or genetic perturbations (e.g., mutations or recombination); this paper is about genetic canalization. Stabilizing selection should improve the canalization of traits, and the degree of canalization should be positively correlated with the traits' impact on fitness. Experiments testing this idea should measure the canalization of a series of traits whose impact on fitness is known or can be inferred, exclude differences among traits in the number of loci and alleles segregating as an explanation for the pattern of variability found, and distinguish between canalization against genetic and environmental variation. These conditions were met by three experiments within which the variation of fitness components among Drosophila melanogaster lines was measured and among which the genetic contribution to the variation among lines was clearly different. The canalization of the traits increased with their impact on fitness and did not depend on the degree of genetic differences among lines. That the flies used had been transformed by a P-element insert suggests that canalization was also effective against novel genetic variation. The results reported here cannot be explained by the classical hypothesis of reduction in the number of loci segregating for traits with greater impact on fitness and confirm that traits with greater impact on fitness are more strongly canalized. This pattern of canalization reveals an underappreciated role for development in microevolution. There is differential genetic canalization of fitness components in D. melanogaster.     

THE USE OF DNA DIVERGENCE TO HELP DETERMINE THE CORRELATES OF EVOLUTION OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

Even though, from Darwin onwards, interisland evolution has been a cornerstone of evolutionary theory it has not been possible to determine to what extent this geographic variation reflects the phylogeny (e.g., pattern of island colonization) or ecogenetic adaptation to different ecological conditions on each island. Using the morphology of western Canary Island lacertids (Gallotia galloti) as an example, a procedure is explored that gives a preliminary answer to this problem when there are a limited number of islands. The phylogenetic component (represented by patristic distances derived from 1005 mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA] base pairs) can be separated from two potential ecogenetic factors (environmental richness and climate) by partial Mantel tests. This reveals that, although these components interact, some characters are correlated primarily to biodiversity/paucity (e.g., size), others are correlated to wet and lush environments (e.g., dorsal pattern), and others are correlated primarily to the phylogeny (e.g., sexual leg markings). The former two correlations may be due to ecogenetic adaptation to current ecological conditions, wheras the latter reflects historical processes.     

Elevational gradients in species richness and endemism of selected plant groups in the central Bolivian Andes

I analyzed the distribution of Acanthaceae, Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Melastomataceae, and Pteridophyta in 62 vegetation plots of 400 m² along an elevational transect between 500 m and 2450 m, and at a nearby lowland site in western Santa Cruz department, Bolivia. These groups were selected because they are physiognomically distinctive, have high species numbers, are comparatively easy to identify, adequately reflect overall floristic relationships, include a wide range of life forms, and are small. The transect was located in the Tucumano-Boliviano biogeographic zone and included drought-deciduous (<850–1000 m), mixed evergreen (850–1000 m to 1800 m), and evergreen Podocarpus-dominated (>1800 m) forests. Elevational patterns of species richness were group-specific and probably related to the ecophysiological properties of each group. Species richness in Pteridophyta and Melastomataceae was correlated with moss cover (i.e., humidity), with elevation (i.e., temperatures) in Acanthaceae and epiphytic Bromeliaceae, with potential evapotranspiration (i.e., ecosystem productivity) in Araceae, and with light availability at ground level in terrestrial Bromeliaceae and Cactaceae. Community endemism generally increased with elevation, but showed a maximum at 1700 m for terrestrial Pteridophyta, and a nonsignificant decline for epiphytic Bromeliaceae and Cactaceae. Endemism was higher for terrestrial than for epiphytic taxa, and was lower among Pteridophyta compared to all other groups, reflecting different dispersal ability among taxonomic and ecological groups. Elevational zonation, tested against a null-model of random distribution of elevational limits, revealed a significant accumulation of upper and lower elevational range boundaries at 900–1050 m and at 1500–1850 m, corresponding to the elevational limits of the main physiognomic vegetation types.     

Differences in the temporal dynamics of phenotypic selection among fitness components in the wild

The balance of selection acting through different fitness components (e.g. fecundity, mating success, survival) determines the potential tempo and trajectory of adaptive evolution. Yet the extent to which the temporal dynamics of phenotypic selection may vary among fitness components is poorly understood. Here, we compiled a database of 3978 linear selection coefficients from temporally replicated studies of selection in wild populations to address this question. Across studies, we find that multi-year selection through mating success and fecundity is stronger than selection through survival, but varies less in direction. We also report that selection through mating success varies more in long-term average strength than selection through either survival or fecundity. The consistency in direction and stronger long-term average strength of selection through mating success and fecundity suggests that selection through these fitness components should cause more persistent directional evolution relative to selection through survival. Similar patterns were apparent for the subset of studies that evaluated the temporal dynamics of selection on traits simultaneously using several different fitness components, but few such studies exist. Taken together, these results reveal key differences in the temporal dynamics of selection acting through different fitness components, but they also reveal important limitations in our understanding of how selection drives adaptive evolution.     

Tree species effects on coupled cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and acidity in mineral soils at a common garden experiment

Forest biogeochemical cycles are shaped by effects of dominant tree species on soils, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We investigated effects of temperate tree species on interactions among carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and acidity in mineral soils from an experiment with replicated monocultures of 14 tree species. To identify how trees affected these soil properties, we evaluated correlations among species-level characteristics (e.g. nutrient concentrations in leaf litter, wood, and roots), stand-level properties (e.g. nutrient fluxes through leaf litterfall, nutrient pools in stemwood), and components of soil C, N, and cation cycles. Total extractable acidity (acidity_tot) was correlated positively with mineral soil C stocks (R ²  = 0.72, P < 0.001), such that a nearly two-fold increase in acidity_tot was associated with a more than two-fold increase of organic C. We attribute this correlation to effects of tree species on soil acidification and subsequent mineral weathering reactions, which make hydrolyzing cations available for stabilization of soil organic matter. The effects of tree species on soil acidity were better understood by measuring multiple components of soil acidity, including pH, the abundance of hydrolyzing cations in soil solutions and on cation exchange sites, and acidity_tot. Soil pH and acidity_tot were correlated with proton-producing components of the soil N cycle (e.g. nitrification), which were positively correlated with species-level variability in fine root N concentrations. Soluble components of soil acidity, such as aluminum in saturated paste extracts, were more strongly related to plant traits associated with calcium cycling, including leaf and root calcium concentrations. Our results suggest conceptual models of plant impacts on soil biogeochemistry should be revised to account for underappreciated plant traits and biogeochemical processes.     

THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF DEVELOPING LATEX DUCTS IN MAMMILLARIA HEYDERI (CACTACEAE)

Electron microscopy was used to investigate early development of latex ducts in Mammillaria heyderi (Cactaceae). Numerous vesicles (secondary vacuoles) form from invaginations of the plasmalemma near sites of wall thinning, from endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and from vesiculate grana of degenerate plastids. Dictyosomes, though they occur in young duct cells, do not seem to be responsible for the formation of vesicles. Cytoplasmic vesicles may contain fibrillar, globular, or crystalline materials, or may be devoid of any type of particulate matter. They may be responsible for storage of numerous laticiferous components. Lysosomal materials could be stored in some vesicles and contribute to the degradation of the protoplast. Some nuclei contain condensed chromatin and are subject to deformation and collapse. Mitochondria and lipid bodies are common in young duct cells but ER is rare. When ducts form in young tissues, plastids in the lumen do not produce starch grains or extensive membranous networks. The plastids eventually degenerate to become a part of latex. If ducts form in older, established tissues having mature plastids, the plastids undergo extreme modification.     

Are food and environmental toxicants 'overdetected' by bioassay?

The definition of clean bioprocessing of foods should relate to the discharge of clean effluents that do not disturb functional ecosystems in the environment. Clean effluents should not pollute aquatic or terrestrial environments by increasing the levels or determined bioavailibility of reactive oxygen species (ROS), traces of heavy metals (e.g. arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium) or radionuclides or other ecotoxicants such as the endocrine disrupting chemicals (e.g. xenoestrogens), herbicides and pesticides. Some saleable foodstuffs can contain very small amounts of potentially toxic components. Strategies dealing with potential toxins should be aimed at targeting remedial bioprocessing to safe limits as stipulated by regulatory agencies, rather than trying to eliminate all toxic components of food so that they can no longer be detected by bioassay or other highly sensitive techniques. The ability to detect even the tiniest amounts of toxicants may not be necessary. This 'overdetection' could lead to inappropriate courses of action in some situations.     

Measuring substrate binding and affinity of purified membrane transport proteins using the scintillation proximity assay

The scintillation proximity assay (SPA) is a rapid radioligand binding assay. Upon binding of radioactively labeled ligands (here L-[(3)H]arginine or D-[(3)H]glucose) to acceptor proteins immobilized on fluoromicrospheres (containing the scintillant), a light signal is stimulated and measured. The application of SPA to purified, detergent-solubilized membrane transport proteins allows substrate-binding properties to be assessed (e.g., substrate specificity and affinity), usually within 1 d. Notably, the SPA makes it possible to study specific transporters without interference from other cellular components, such as endogenous transporters. Reconstitution of the target transporter into proteoliposomes is not required. The SPA procedure allows high sample throughput and simple sample handling without the need for washing or separation steps: components are mixed in one well and the signal is measured directly after incubation. Therefore, the SPA is an excellent tool for high-throughput screening experiments, e.g., to search for substrates and inhibitors, and it has also recently become an attractive tool for drug discovery.