3-Geranyloxy-6-methyl-1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone and vismiones C,D and E from Psorospermum febrifugum

Three new vismiones and 3-geranyloxy-6-methyl-1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone were isolated from the berries of Psorospermum febrifugum together with the known chrysophanic acid, 2-isoprenylemodin and ferruginin B. Their structures were established through chemical and spectral means. The occurrence of prenylated anthracenes only in Vismieae suggests their use as systematic markers for the tribe.     

Engineering Escherichia coli as a platform for the in vivo synthesis of prenylated aromatics

Prenylated aromatics (PAs) are an important class of natural products with valuable pharmaceutical applications. To address current limitations of their sourcing from plants, here, we present a microbial platform for the in vivo synthesis of PAs based on the aromatic prenyltransferase NphB from Streptomyces sp. strain CL190. As proof of concept, we targeted the prenylation of phenolic/phenolcarboxylic acids, including orsellinic (OSA), divarinolic (DVA), and olivetolic (OLA) acids, whose prenylated products have important biopharmaceutical applications. Although the ability of wild-type NphB to catalyze the prenylation reaction with each acid was validated by in vitro characterization, improvement of product titers in vivo required protein modeling and rational design to engineer NphB variants with increased activity and product selectivity. When a designed NphB variant with eightfold improved catalytic efficiency toward OSA was expressed in an Escherichia coli host engineered to generate geranyl pyrophosphate at high flux through the mevalonate pathway, we observed up to 300 mg/L prenylated products by exogenously supplying OSA. The improved properties of engineered NphB were also utilized to demonstrate the diversification of this in vivo platform by using both different aromatic acceptors and different prenyl donors to generate various PA compounds, including medicinally important compounds such as cannabigerovarinic, cannabigerolic, and grifolic acids.     

异戊烯基化吲哚类生物碱的化学酶合成

异戊烯基化吲哚类生物碱广泛存在于麦角菌、青霉菌和曲霉菌中,具有一定的药理学活性,与未异戊烯基化的前体在生物活性方面具有明显的差异.曲霉菌中的某些异戊烯基化吲哚类生物碱具有抗癌活性,如烟曲霉毒素C（fumitremorgin C）、tryprostatin B,但其天然产量低且不易分离,利用化学酶合成法可很容易地将前体转化为异戊烯基化吲哚类生物碱.异戊烯基转移酶FtmPT1对二甲丙烯基二磷酸（dimethylallyl diphosphate,DMAPP）具有专一性,但可以接受不同的芳香族底物.早期研究发现,FtmPT1能接受含色氨酸的不同环二肽为底物,但以cyclo-L-Trp-L-Tyr和cyclo-L-Trp-L-Phe为底物时,酶的相对活性很低,其产物量少,无法用于合成产物.本实验通过优化酶反应条件来提高其产量.将已构建的含ftmPT1的质粒在大肠杆菌中诱导表达,经Ni-NTA亲和柱纯化后用于酶反应.实验结果表明,通过增加酶量（终浓度2.8 μmol/L）、延长培养时间（37 ℃,24 h）,以cyclo-L-Trp-L-Tyr和cyclo-L-Trp-L-Phe为底物的酶反应产率分别达到49.3%和21.3%,产物经¹H^-NMR、¹H-¹H-COSY和ESI-MS鉴定,其结果与预期吻合.据检索,这2个化合物均为新化合物,分别命名为cyclo-C2-1′-DMA-L-Trp-L-Tyr和cyclo-C2-1′-DMA-L-Trp-L-Phe.     

Flavonoids from Tephrosia fulvinervis

From the pods of Tephrosia fulvinervis, a new Ethiopian species, a new flavanone, fulvinervin A, and a new flavone, fulvinervin B, have been isolated and their structures elucidated from their chemical properties and spectral data.     

Flavanones and xanthones from Maclura pomifera

(+-)Euchrestaflavanones B and C and 8-prenyltoxyloxanthone C have been isolated from the root bark of Maclura pomifera. A study of the cyclization of alvaxanthone under varying conditions is reported.     

Flavanones and dihydroflavonols as biosynthetic intermediates in Matthiola incana

In anthocyanin-producing flowers of Matthiola incana, the presence of naringenin, naringenin 7-glucoside, dihydrokaempferol and dihydrokaempferol 7-glucoside could be demonstrated. The four isolated compounds initiated anthocyanin synthesis after administration to acyanic flowers of genetically defined lines of Matthiola incana and Antirrhinum majus. Therefore, these compounds cannot be regarded as end-products but rather as intermediates in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Furthermore, naringenin 7-glucoside and dihydrokaempferol 7-glucoside most probably act as a pool for their aglycones, which serve as the actual substrates.     

Antimicrobial agents from higher plants: Prenylated flavonoids and other phenols from Glycyrrhiza lepidota

Bioassay directed fractionation of extracts of American licorice, Glycyrrhiza lepidota (Leguminosae), resulted in identification of the known bibenzyl, 3,5-dihydroxy-4-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-bibenzyl, and the known flavanones, glabranin and pinocembrin, as well as the isolation and structure determination of the new flavonol, glepidotin A and the new dihydroflavonol, glepidotin B as antimicrobial agents.     

Carboxyl-methylation of prenylated calmodulin CaM53 is required for efficient plasma membrane targeting of the protein

Prenylation is necessary for association of the petunia calmodulin CaM53 with the plasma membrane. To determine whether post-prenylation processing of the protein was also required for plasma membrane targeting, we studied the subcellular localization of a GFP-labelled CaM53 reporter in yeast and plant cells. Blocking of carboxyl-methylation of prenylated proteins either by a specific inhibitor or in mutant yeast cells resulted in localization of green fluorescence to what appears to be the endomembrane system, in contrast with the plasma membrane localization observed in control cells. We show that a prenyl-cysteine methyltransferase (PCM) activity that carboxyl-methylates prenylated CaM53 also exists in plant cells, and that it is required for efficient plasma membrane targeting. We also report an Arabidopsis gene with homology to PCM and demonstrate that it encodes a protein with PCM activity that localizes to the endomembrane system of plant cells, similar to prenylated but unmethylated CaM53. Together, our data suggest that, following prenylation, CaM53 is probably associated with the endomembrane system, where a PCM activity methylates the prenylated protein prior to targeting it to its final destination in the plasma membrane.     

A validated spectrophotometric method for quantification of prenylated flavanones in pacific propolis from Taiwan

Introduction – Because of its chemical diversity, the only way to standardise propolis is to specify multiple standards for different propolis types according to the corresponding chemical profile. So far, this has been done only for European propolis. Objective – To develop a rapid low‐cost spectrophotometric procedure for quantification of bioactive prenylated flavanones in Taiwanese propolis. Methodology – The proposed method quantifies the total flavanones on the basis of their absorption as coloured phenylhydrazones formed by interaction with 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine. The procedure was validated through model mixture of compounds representing the composition of Taiwanese propolis according to previous studies. The major flavanones of the propolis samples (propolins C, D, F and G) were quantified by HPLC. Antiradical activity against DPPH was also measured. The DNP (dinitrophenylhydrazine) spectrophotometric method is applied for the first time for quantification of prenylated flavanones. Results – Spectophotometric procedure applicable to new type propolis (Macaranga type) was developed with recovery between 105 and 110% at the concentration range of 0.573–1.791 mg/mL. Six propolis samples were analysed by spectrophotometry using the procedure developed and validated, and by HPLC as the results demonstrated satisfactory agreement. Neither the spectrophotometric data nor the values measured by HPLC showed significant correlation with the antiradical activity against DPPH. Conclusion – The proposed spectrophotometric procedure is useful for routine analyses of Macaranga‐type propolis, because of its simplicity, repeatability and acceptable accuracy. Its application to a number of commercial samples could be used as a basis for standardisation and quality control of Pacific propolis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.