Chemistry of medicinal plants (review)]

Data on the chemical composition related to synthesis of physiologically active substances (alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, etc.), and accumulation of individual elements or groups of five to ten elements (e.g., Cr, Co, Mn, and Zn) in medicinal plants were reviewed. Chemical features of medicinal plants serve as an integral determinant of their species specificity and pharmacological properties and enabling their wide use in medical practice. The relationship between the synthesis of physiologically active substances and accumulation of elements is mediated by several levels of molecular regulation.     

药用植物生长发育与有效成分积累关系研究进展

药用植物有效成分是其发挥临床疗效的物质基础, 也是评价药材质量的重要指标, 而这些有效成分的产生和分布通常有种属、器官、组织以及生长发育时期的特异性。明确药用植物主要药用成分在植物不同生长发育阶段的积累变化规律和形成机制, 对中药品质与临床疗效有重要的指导意义。该文主要概述了不同发育阶段对药用植物不同药用部位(根、茎、叶、花、果实和种子)中有效成分积累的影响, 并对药用植物次生代谢产物合成和积累机制的相关研究技术进行了展望, 为生产实践上调控药用植物次生物质合成、药用植物的合理利用以及提高中药材品质奠定了理论基础。     

Medicinal plants: Concentrators and superconcentrators of copper and its role in metabolism of these species

With the combination of the atomic absorption method and spectrophotometry, we conducted the testing of medicinal plants of Russian flora (approximately 200 species) on the content of copper (Cu). We revealed 36 species—concentrators and superconcentrators of this element. The capability of these species to accumulate Cu is compared with the synthesis of physiologically active compounds (PAC), among which alkaloids and phenolic compounds prevail. The stimulating influence of Cu on the formation and accumulation of alkaloids of main structural types—derivatives of chinolysidine, isochinoline, tropane, and indole—is established. The data about the role of Cu-containing enzymes in the metabolism of alkaloids, as well as of phenolic compounds, are reviewed on the example of flavonoids. The role of concentrated copper in the medicinal effect of medicinal plants and, thus, the appearing perspective to widen their application spectrum, especially in the cases when the orientation of the action of PAC and Cu are different, is discussed.     

Physiological activities and the active constituents of potentially medicinal plants used by wild chimpanzees of the Mahale mountains,Tanzania

Potential medicinal plants for wild chimpanzees have been studied in order to discover their physiologically active compounds. Tests of the physiological activity of 3 plant species—Vernonia amygdalina, Aspilia mossambicensis, andFicus exasperata—indicate that they contain a variety of active compounds. From one species,V. amygdalina, an antitumor agent and 2 possible antitumor promoters are identified. Furthermore, steroid glucosides were isolated as the bitter substances. These structurally new compounds are expected to exhibit a number of significant physiological activities. The chemical investigation of possible medicinal plants used by chimpanzees should be helpful in recovering naturally occurring compounds of medicinal significance for human use.     

Jasmonic Acid (JA) Acts as a Signal Molecule in LaCl3-Induced Baicalin Synthesis in Scutellaria baicalensis Seedlings

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been widely used to increase accumulation of biomass and secondary metabolites in medicinal plants in China. However, very few studies have investigated how REEs mediate secondary metabolism synthesis in medicinal plants. Lanthanum (La), an important REE, is known to improve the accumulation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants and is widely distributed in China. However, few studies have evaluated the signal transduction leading to La-induced secondary metabolism in medicinal plants. In this study, LaCl(3) treatment-induced multiple responses in Scutellaria baicalensis seedlings, including the rapid generation of jasmonic acid (JA), sequentially followed by the enhancement of baicalin production. Direct application of JA also promoted the synthesis of baicalin in the absence of LaCl(3). LaCl(3)-induced baicalin synthesis was blocked by two different JA synthesis inhibitors. Our results showed that JA acts as a signal component within the signaling system leading to La-induced baicalin synthesis in S. baicalensis seedlings.     

多胺在植物花发育中的作用

多胺是植物体内一类生理活性物质,其代谢变化与高等植物的花芽形成和发育关系密切。该论文综述了多胺在植物体内的形态和分布,以及成花诱导、花芽形成,尤其是雄性育性的发生和性别分化过程中的作用,并对今后的研究方向进行了讨论。     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and active ingredients of medicinal plants: current research status and prospectives

Medicinal plants have been used world-wide for thousands of years and are widely recognized as having high healing but minor toxic side effects. The scarcity and increasing demand for medicinal plants and their products have promoted the development of artificial cultivation of medicinal plants. Currently, one of the prominent issues in medicinal cultivation systems is the unstable quality of the products. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) affects secondary metabolism and the production of active ingredients of medicinal plants and thus influence the quality of herbal medicines. In this review, we have assembled, analyzed, and summarized the effects of AM symbioses on secondary metabolites of medicinal plants. We conclude that symbiosis of AM is conducive to favorable characteristics of medicinal plants, by improving the production and accumulation of important active ingredients of medicinal plants such as terpenes, phenols, and alkaloids, optimizing the composition of different active ingredients in medicinal plants and ultimately improving the quality of herbal materials. We are convinced that the AM symbiosis will benefit the cultivation of medicinal plants and improve the total yield and quality of herbal materials. Through this review, we hope to draw attention to the status and prospects of, and arouse more interest in, the research field of medicinal plants and mycorrhiza.     

Biological tests of physiologically active compounds (approaches): Communication II

This review considers the methods of investigation proposed by L. A. Piruzyan in the field of preclinical trials of physiologically active compounds: (1) the search for new physiologically active compounds illustrated by analysis of the developmental mechanisms of some diseases, such as jaundice of the newborn, renal and liver insufficiency, acute drug-induced intoxication, discoid and systemic lupus erythematosus, and lupus-like syndrome; (2) experimental studies on safety of medicinal substances—the testing of substances for mutagenicity and embryotoxicity, the preparation of compounds with antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties, the determination of preserved blood characteristics; (3) the stabilization of medicinal preparations for use—with drug oxidation inhibitors, and substances contained in liposomes. The ligand pathology concept is presented. The necessity of an individualized approach for assessment of chemical compound safety for humans in emphasized: it should be based on the activity determination of certain enzymes in each subject. Deceased.     

Physiological Investigations on the Banana Plant: Factors which Affect the Nitrogen Compounds of the Leaves

Banana plants (Musa acuminate cv. Gros Michel) have been grownin sand culture, irrigated with a full nutrient solution andwith solutions deficient in each of several nutrient elements.The growth was continued long enough to establish the conditionscharacteristic of these nutrient treatments. Extracts of leaves,sampled according to their position on the axis, have been madefrom plants grown in full nutrient solution; these extractshave been examined by chromatographic methods to detect anddetermine the various nitrogen compounds they contain (A) Therelative proportions of the soluble nitrogen compounds of thebanana leaf are quite different from those of the fruit and,in response to the deficiency of specified mineral nutrients,both the total amount and the relative composition of the solublenitrogen fraction are greatly affected. The results are interpretedin terms of the more active accumulation of soluble compoundsin young leaves and the maintenance of a low amide (glutamine)level in leaves engaged in protein synthesis. The accumulationof soluble nitrogen compounds when growth and synthesis arearrested, and the relative accumulation of a specified numberof nitrogenous substances, due to the lack of a nutrient element,indicates that metabolic blocks in reaction pathways occur.Examples of these effects are given and are related to nutritionaldeficiency (B).     

药用植物内生真菌及活性物质多样性研究进展

药用植物具有丰富的物种多样性,是人类生存与发展的重要自然资源。内生真菌广泛存在于健康植物组织内部,是植物微生态系统的重要组成部分,各种药用植物中蕴藏着非常丰富的内生真菌。通过与药用植物的“协同进化”,某些内生真菌具有了产生与宿主植物相同或相似的生物活性物质的能力。内生真菌产生的各种活性物质,在生物制药、农业生产、工业发酵等方面都表现出美好的应用前景,受到世界各国专家的广泛关注。利用内生真菌发酵实现生物活性物质的工业化生产,可以提高产量、降低产品成本,满足人们日益增长的需求;同时有利于珍稀、濒危药用植物资源的保护,对减少野生药用植物多样性的破坏具有重要意义。本文从药用植物内生真菌物种多样性与产生生物活性物质多样性等方面总结近年最新的研究进展,提出了内生真菌及活性物质研究的未来发展方向。     

Toxic Element Profiles in Selected Medicinal Plants Growing on Serpentines in Bulgaria

Populations of medicinal plants growing on serpentines and their respective soils were analyzed for Fe, Ni, Mn, Cr, Co, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Aqua regia extraction and 0.43 M acetic acid extraction were used for the quantification of pseudototal and bioavailable fractions, respectively, of elements in soil and nitric acid digestion for determination of total element content in plants. Screening was performed to (1) document levels of toxic metals in herbs extensively used in preparation of products and standardized extracts, (2) compare accumulation abilities of ferns and seed plants, and (3) estimate correlations between metal content in plants and their soils. The toxic element content of plants varied from site to site on a large scale. The concentrations of Fe and Ni were elevated while those of Cu, Zn, and Pb were close to average values usually found in plants. The highest concentrations for almost all elements were measured in both Teucrium species. Specific differences in metal accumulation between ferns and seed plants were not recorded. The investigated species are not hyperaccumulators but can accumulate toxic elements, in some cases exceeding permissible levels proposed by the World Health Organization and European Pharmacopoeia. The harvesting of medicinal plants from serpentines could be hazardous to humans.     

环境胁迫对雷公藤中雷公藤红素含量的影响

雷公藤(Tripterygium wilfordii)是我国的名贵药用植物, 其药用成分雷公藤红素是医药研究中重要的化学单体。环境胁迫能促进药用植物次生代谢物质的合成与积累, 该文通过正交设计, 探讨了水分、光照、土壤氮含量三因素两水平轻度胁迫处理对雷公藤幼苗中雷公藤红素含量的影响。研究结果表明: 根部是雷公藤红素含量最丰富的部位; 雷公藤幼苗在水分、光照及土壤氮含量胁迫条件下根系中雷公藤红素的含量分别提高了10.8％、14.4％和13.0％, 光照对雷公藤红素含量的增加最明显, 短期的轻度胁迫可提高根中雷公藤红素的含量。     

The role of trace elements in radiation protection of plants and animals on radionuclide contaminated territories of Poles'e

The retrospective review and analysis of works on some physiologically active trace elements influence on the radionuclides transfer from soil to plants and with forage to animals are presented. Also reviewed is their radioresistance in the contaminated territories. It is shown that some elements--zinc, manganese, cobalt--being appled to the soil at seeding or spraying plants with aqueous solutions and also in complex compounds are capable of reducing significantly the 90Sr and 137Cs transit to agricultural plants, and with forage--into the animals bodies. We have also shown that trace elements reduce the effects of radiation injury. The mechanisms of the radioprotective action of trace elements are also discussed in the paper.     

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.     

人参皂苷化合物生物合成进展

人参皂苷是我国许多传统名贵药用植物的主要活性物质,在医药、保健品、营养品和化妆品开发领域有广阔的应用前景,特别是稀有人参皂苷具有显著的抗肿瘤、保护神经系统、保肝护肝等药理活性.但其在植物中含量低且不稳定,严重影响了人参皂苷类物质的开发利用.自20世纪末以来,随着生物技术的不断发展和多种生物基因组的测序和解析,使得人参皂...     

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.     

The Carbon Isotope Ratios and Centents of Mineral Elements in Leaves of Chinese Medi cinal Plants

Leaf carbon isotope ratios and 13 kinds of mineral elements were measured on 36 species of common Chinese medicinal plants in a subtropical monsoon forest of Ding Hu Shan in Guangdong Province. The δ13C value were from –26.4 to –32.6%, indicating that all of the species belonged the photosynthetic C3 types. The relative lower value of δ13C was observed in the life form of shrubs. The contents of 7 elements (N, P, K, Ca, Na Mg, Si) were dependent upon the species, life form, medicinal function and medicinal part. Herb type medicine and the used medicinal part of leaves or whole plant showed higher levels of above elements than the others. Among the nine groups with different medicinal functions, it was found that more nitrogen was in the leaves of medicinal plants for hemophthisis, hypertension and stomachic troubles, more phosphorus and potassium were in the leaves for cancer and snake bite medicines, but more calcium and magnesium were in the leaves for curing rheumatics. Ferric, aluminium and manganese were the main composition of microelements in leaves. There were higher content of ferric in leaves for hemophthisis medicine, higher zinc in leaves for cold and hypertension medicine, and higer cuprum in leaves of stomachic medicine. It was suggested that the pattern of mineral elements in leaves of Chinese medicinal plants reflected the different properties of absorption and accumulation. Some additional effect due to the high content of certain element might be associated with the main function of that medicine.     

MPDB 1.0: a medicinal plant database of Bangladesh

The term of medicinal plants include a various types of plants used in herbalism with medicinal activities. These plants are considered as rich resources of ingredients which can be used as complementary and alternative medicines and, also in drug developments and synthesis. In addition, some plants regarded as valuable origin of nutrition. Thus, all these plants are recommended as therapeutic agents. Information related to medicinal plants and herbal drugs accumulated over the ages are scattered and unstructured which make it prudent to develop a curated database for medicinal plants. MPDB 1.0 database is dedicated to provide the first window to find the plants around Bangladesh claimed to have medicinal and/or nutritive values by accumulating data from the published literatures. This database contains 406 medicinal plants with their corresponding scientific, family and local names as well as utilized parts for treatment from different districts of Bangladesh. Information regarding ailments is available for 353 plants. In addition, we have found active compounds for 78 plants with their corresponding PubMed ID.

Availability

www.medicinalplantbd.net     

药用植物微生物组及其与药用植物次生代谢产物的关系

药用植物是中药的原料,是中药产业的源头,其生长发育受遗传和环境等诸多因素的影响。以往研究强调植物基因型及生态因子对药用植物产量和品质的影响。近几年,随着人类微生物组研究的推进,植物微生物组作为植物整体的重要组成部分在药用植物的生长发育、品质形成甚至药效等方面的作用也日益受到重视,有关植物微生物组的多样性,微生物组在植物生长发育中的作用已有较详细的综述,而有关药用植物微生物组及其与药用植物次生代谢产物间关系的综述较少。本文重点总结了自2010年以来药用植物微生物组的研究进展,包括药用植物微生物组物种组成、功能及其与药用植物次生代谢产物产生的关系等,并对其在药用植物提质增效及其生态种植中的潜在应用进行了展望。     

Aerobic methylotroph bacteria as phytosymbionts]

This paper deals with the physiological, biochemical, and molecular genetic aspects of the interaction of aerobic methylotrophic bacteria with plants by means of phytohormones (such as cytokinins and auxins) and other physiologically active substances (vitamins, exopolysaccharides, bioprotectants). The state of the art and the prospects of research in the field of bacteria-plant interactions and the application of aerobic methylotrophs in plant biotechnology is discussed.