匙羹藤组织培养条件优化研究

以匙羹藤无菌种子苗为外植体,通过预备实验确定基本培养基后,采用完全实验和正交设计相结合的方法,研究植物生长调节剂两因素配合和多因素组合(NAA、TDZ、2-ip、IAA、6-BA和KT)对匙羹藤芽体诱导及继代培养的影响。结果显示,匙羹藤组织培养最适的基本培养基为N68;N68+NAA0.05mg/L+2-ip0.4mg/L+TDZ0.001mg/L利于芽体增殖,可用于继代培养;N68+NAA0.05mg/L+TDZ0.005mg/L促进植株长根,可用于生根培养。     

Standardisation of Gymnema sylvestre r. Br. with reference to gymnemagenin by high-performance thin-layer chromatography

A simple and reproducible HPTLC method for the determination of gymnemagenin (1) in Gymnema sylvestre has been developed. Components were separated on pre-coated silica gel 60 F254 plates with chloroform:methanol (9:1) and scanned using a densitometric scanner in the UV reflectance mode at 290 nm. Linearity of determination of 1 was observed in the range 4-10 microg. The average percentage recovery of 1 from an extract was 99.09 +/- 0.29, and the content of 1 in leaves of the title plant was 1.61% (dry weight).     

Two new flavonol glycosides from Gymnema sylvestre and Euphorbia ebracteolata

Two new flavonol glycosides, namely kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (1) and quercetin 3-O-6"-(3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), have been isolated from the aerial parts of Gymnema sylvestre and Euphorbia ebracteolata, respectively. Their structures were determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic methods.     

两种土壤含水率下匙羹藤的光合及水分利用率的初步研究

采用便携式LI-6400光合测定系统,对生长于两种土壤含水率下的当年生匙羹藤光合特性及其水分利用率进行研究。结果表明:(1)匙羹藤叶片的光饱和点(LSP)200～400μmol.m-2.s-1,光补偿点(LCP)12.1880～12.5593μmol.m-2.s-1,表观量子利用效率(α)0.0472～0.0508mol.mol-1,为阳生植物,但具有较强的弱光利用能力。(2)叶片CO2补偿点为70.97～73.75μmol.mol-1,CO2饱和点在1115.51～1687.99μmol.mol-1,羧化效率7.35×10-3～8.64×10-3μmol.m-2.s-1,表明匙羹藤为C3型植物。(3)上午10:00左右和下午4:00左右是匙羹藤水分利用率的最高时段。(4)含水率高时饱和净光合速率(Pm)、表观光合量子利用效率(α)、光饱和点都比含水率低时高,但光补偿点却比含水率低时低,说明匙羹藤利用弱光的能力较强,能有效地利用全日照的强光,光合潜力较大,生长较好;含水率低时匙羹藤的CO2补偿点较低,说明匙羹藤能利用较低的外界CO2浓度;最大水分利用效率较高,表明含水率低时匙羹藤的节水潜力较大。     

In vitro production of gymnemic acid from cell suspension cultures of Gymnema sylvestre R. Br

Gymnema sylvestre is an important medicinal plant that bears bioactive compound namely gymnemic acids. The present work deals with the optimization of a cell suspension culture system of Gymnema sylvestre for the production of biomass and gymnemic acid, which has anti‐diabetic properties. We investigated the effect of inoculum densities (2.5–20.0 g/L), the strength of the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (0.25–2.0), carbon source (sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose), and the concentration of the sucrose (1–8% w/v) to determine their effects on biomass accumulation and production of gymnemic acid. Overall, 10 g/L of inoculum density, full‐strength MS medium supplemented with 2,4‐dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2.0 mg/L) and Kinetin (0.1 mg/L), and 3% w/v sucrose was found best for the accumulation of biomass and gymnemic acid content (9.95 mg/g dry weight). The results of the current study will be useful for bioprocess and biochemical engineers for large‐scale production of gymnemic acid in cell culture.     

High pressure NMR study of a small protein, gurmarin

The effect of pressure on the structure of gurmarin, a globular, 35-residue protein from Gymnema sylvestre, was studied in aqueous environment (95% 1H2O/5% 2H2O, pH 2.0) with an on-line variable pressure NMR system operating at 750 MHz. Two-dimensional TOCSY and NOESY spectra were measured as functions of pressure between 1 and 2000 bar at 40°C . Practically all the proton signals of gurmarin underwent some shifts with pressure, showing that the entire protein structure responds to, and is altered by, pressure. Most amide protons showed different degrees of low field shifts with pressure, namely 0–0.2 ppm with an average of 0.051 ppm at 2000 bar, showing that they are involved in hydrogen bonding and that these hydrogen bonds are shortened by pressure by different degrees. The tendency was also confirmed that the chemical shifts of the amide protons exposed to the solvent (water) are more sensitive to pressure than those internally hydrogen bonded with carbonyls. The pressure-induced shifts of the H signals of the residues in the -sheet showed a negative correlation with the folding shifts (difference between the shift at 1 bar and that of a random coil), suggesting that the main-chain torsion angles of the -sheet are slightly altered by pressure. Significant pressure-induced shifts were also observed for the side-chain protons (but no larger than 10% of the folding shifts), demonstrating that the tertiary structure of gurmarin is also affected by pressure. Finally, the linearity of the pressure-induced shifts suggests that the compressibility of gurmarin is invariant in the pressure range between 1 and 2000 bar.     

Effects of dihydroxy gymnemic triacetate (DGT) on expression of apoptosis associated proteins in human prostate cancer cell lines (PC3)

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancies among men. The present study is aimed at the investigation of dihydroxy gymnemic triacetate (DGT) from Gymnema sylvestre on mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and cell cycle arrest. Treatment of DGT resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of growth of PC-3 cells. The cell cycle arrest was observed at the G2/M phase and accumulation of apoptotic cells was observed in DGT-treated prostate cancer cell lines. The occurrence of apoptosis in these cells was observed by DNA fragmentation. These events were associated with increased levels of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, Bad and reduced levels of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Mcl-1. DGT also induces the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. The above results, clearly, suggest that DGT induces apoptosis by the intrinsic pathways which could be very useful for the treatment of prostate cancer.     

Microwave‐assisted extraction of total bioactive saponin fraction from Gymnema sylvestre with reference to gymnemagenin: a potential biomarker

Objective – To develop a fast and ecofriendly microwave assisted extraction (MAE) technique for the effective and exhaustive extraction of gymnemagenin as an indicative biomarker for the quality control of Gymnema sylvestre. Methodology – Several extraction parameters such as microwave power, extraction time, solvent composition, pre‐leaching time, loading ratio and extraction cycle were studied for the determination of the optimum extraction condition. Scanning electron micrographs were obtained to elucidate the mechanism of extraction Results – The final optimum extraction conditions as obtained from the study were: 40% microwave power, 6 min irradiation time, 85% v/v methanol as the extraction solvent, 15 min pre‐leaching time and 25 : 1 (mL/g) as the solvent‐to‐material loading ratio. The proposed extraction technique produced a maximum yield of 4.3% w/w gymnemagenin in 6 min which was 1.3, 2.5 and 1.95 times more efficient than 6 h of heat reflux, 24 h of maceration and stirring extraction, respectively. A synergistic heat and mass transfer theory was also proposed to support the extraction mechanism Conclusion – Comparison with conventional extraction methods revealed that MAE could save considerable amounts of time and energy, whilst the reduction of volume of organic solvent consumed provides an ecofriendly feature. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.