1,721,304 research outputs found
Insight on antitumoral properties of plant diterpenes
No full textPlant diterpenes constitute a large group of natural products that play diverse functional roles in plants as hormones, photosynthetic pigments, attractants for pollinators, herbivore repellents and phytotoxins. Diterpenes are biosynthesized especially in plastids and an increasing number of diterpenoids are being found with skeletons that may arise by riarrangements of well known bi- and tri-cyclic systems [1]. Different plant extracts containing diterpenes as main secondary metabolites showed several biological actions such as antitumor, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and larvicidal activities [2]. Although diterpenes are present in a wide number of plant families, some genera are characterized by the presence of peculiar skeletons. In the last few years our research group was involved in the building-up of diterpenes and diterpenes-like library to screen against biological targets, selecting plants belonging to different genera through a chemotaxonomic approach; among them some species of Euphorbia and Podocarpus were investigated. Diterpenes occurring in Euphorbia species have provided many lead compounds for drug development due to their broad structural diversity including polycyclic and macrocyclic skeletons and various aliphatic and aromatic ester groups. These species are well known to contain skin-irritant diterpenes, such as ingenane, tigliane, and daphnane derivatives, together with non-irritant polyoxygenated macrocyclic constituents, lathyrane, jatrophane and their polycyclic derivatives [3-4]. Aiming at the characterization of lathyrane diterpene target in a cellular system [5], a chemical proteomics approach, DARTS, was employed for a new lathyrane diterpene, (2R,9S,10R,11R,13S)-18-hydroxy-9αH,11αH-lathyra-4(15),5(6)-dien-1,14-dione-18-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), named as laurifolioside, showing that clathrin heavy chain is the main partner. Compound 1 ability to modulate clathrin heavy chain activity has been assessed through Western-Blot, microscopy and molecular docking analyses, suggesting a new activity of lathyrane diterpenes in the modulation of trafficking pathways
Chemical and biological studies of plants belonging to Ecuadorian flora
No full textIn Ecuador, medicinal plants are largely used by local people, although for the most part of species, there is not enough scientific information or an ecological profile that could help to find the best conditions to produce sufficient raw material and to satisfy the existing demand (1). Most of the time the collection of the species is carried out directly by consumers, as in the case of indigenous people for daily consumption. The whole plant could be used or commercialize as raw material, or in parts, pulverized, as extracts or as semi-synthetic substances. People use medicinal plants for infusions, to treat different sickness as headache, back pain, skin illness, or among others as antibiotics or antifungal remedies. This is why it becomes indispensable to improve the research of Ecuadorian medicinal plants, to conserve the species and their habitats, use and trade, in order to benefit the population’s health. It’s also important to study the chemical content of these species, to better understand their properties and encourage an appropriate consumption and use of herbal drugs and their products (2).
To discover biologically active secondary metabolites from Ecuadorian plants some unstudied species belonging to different families were collected: Bidens humilis (Kunth) (Asteraceae), Andromachia igniaria (Humb.& Bonpl.) (Asteraceae), Euphorbia laurifolia (Juss. Ex Lam.) (Euphorbiaceae), and Clinopodium tomentosum (Kunth) Harley (Lamiaceae), all growing in the zone of Cordillera de los Andes, where species are the most requested by local inhabitants. Plants were selected for their chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and traditional medicine features. Then, the dried materials were extracted with solvent of increasing polarity, and fractionated to isolate and characterize secondary metabolites. Compounds belonging to different classes of secondary metabolites such as phenolics, diterpenes and flavonoids, including some new derivatives, were identified with the aim of NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Biological assays were also carried out for some new flavonoids isolated from B. humilis (3) and A. igniaria, and diterpenes from E. laurifolia (4)
Indagini chimico-biologiche su piante della medicina tradizionale dell’area mediterranea
No full textQuali-quantitative analysis of the major phenolic constituents of Arbutus unedo L. fruits (Ericaceae)
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