AIMTo study the chemical constituents of the water-extracts of Selaginella tamariscina (Beauv.) Spring.

METHODSVarious chromatographic techniques were used to separate and purify the constituents. Their physico-chemical properties and spectral data were used to elucidate the structures.

RESULTSNine compounds were isolated and identified as (2R,3S)-dihydro-2- (3',5'-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-5-acetyl-benzofuran (1), 3-hydroxy-phenpropionic acid-(2'-methoxy-4'-carboxy-phenol) ester (tamariscina ester A, 2), sygringaresinol (3), 1-(4'-hydroxyl-3'-methoxyphenyl)glycerol (4), ferulic acid (5), caffeic acid (6), vanillic acid (7), syringic acid (8), and umbelliferone (9).

CONCLUSIONCompound 1 and 2 are new compounds, and the others were isolated from Selaginella for the first time.

Benzofurans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Caffeic Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Coumaric Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Phenylpropionates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Selaginellaceae ; chemistry ; Vanillic Acid ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is main regulatory enzyme for pentose phosphate pathway. To amplify the core sequence of G6PDH gene from Chimonanthus praecox, the primers were synthesized, based on the conserved nucleotide sequence of other reported plant G6PDH genes. The specific primers were designed according to the major fragment. The full length cDNA of the G6PDH1 gene was isolated by the 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends approach. Transcript levels of G6PDH1 isoform was measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in different tissues and in responds to cold treatment. The G6PDH1 subcellular localization, transmembrane domain, three-dimensional structure, and phylogenetic analysis were predicted by different software to analysis the bioinformatics of G6PDH1 protein. The G6PDH1 cDNA sequence was 2 011 bp in length and consisted of 1 551 bp Open Reading Frame (ORF) , encoding a protein of 516 amino acids. Expression analysis results in different tissues showed that G6PDH1 was primarily observed in flowers and roots, as opposed to the leaves and stems. Cold treatment experiments indicated that cold treatment caused a rapid increase in G6PDH1 expression in flowers within 12 h. The full-length cDNA of G6PDH1 and its expression analysis will play an important role for further study on cold stress responses in Ch. praecox.
Calycanthaceae ; chemistry ; classification ; enzymology ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Enzyme Stability ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Models, Molecular ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

AIMTo study the chemical constituents of Selaginella tamariscina (Beauv.) Spring.

METHODSVarious chromatographic techniques were used to separate and purify the chemical constituents. Their physico-chemical properties and spectral data were used to elucidate the structures.

RESULTSFour compounds were isolated from the n-BuOH fraction of the water-extracts. Their structures were identified as 1-hydroxy-2-[2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-5-(1-hydroxyethyl)-phenyl]-3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy)-propane-1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (tamariscinoside B, I), adenosine (II), guanosine (III), arbutin (IV).

CONCLUSIONTamariscinoside B (I) is a new compound, while the others were isolated from Selaginella for the first time.

Adenosine ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Arbutin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Guanosine ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Selaginellaceae ; chemistry

AIMTo study the chemical constituents of Selaginella tamariscina (Beauv.) Spring.

METHODSThe compounds were isolated and purified by macroporous adsorption resin, Sephadex LH-20 and silica gel column chromatography and identified on the basis of their physicochemical and spectral data.

RESULTSFour compounds were obtained from the n-BuOH fraction of 70% acetone extracts. Their structures were elucidated as (7S, 8R)-7, 8-dihydro-7-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-8-hydroxymethyl-[1'-( 7'-hydroxyethyl)-5' methoxyl] benzofuran-4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (tamariscinoside C, I), D-mannitol (II), tyrosine (II), shikimic acid (IV).

CONCLUSIONCompound I is a new compound, compounds II and III were obtained from the genius for the first time, compound IV was yielded from the plant for the first time.

Benzofurans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Mannitol ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Monosaccharides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Selaginellaceae ; chemistry ; Shikimic Acid ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Tyrosine ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents from the roots and rhizomes of Clematis hexapetala.

METHODThe compounds were separated by means of solvent extraction, repeated chromatography with silica gel and HPLC. The structures were determined by spectral analysis.

RESULTNine compounds were isolated as friedelin (1) , anemonin (2) , beta-sitosterol (3) , palmitic acid (4) , vanillic acid (5) , isolariciresinol (6) , 5-hydroxumethyl-5H-furan-2-one (7) , n-nonane (8) , daucosterol (9).

CONCLUSIONAll the compounds were isolated from the plant for the first time.

Clematis ; chemistry ; Furans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Lignin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Naphthols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Palmitic Acid ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Lysine decarboxylase is a key enzyme involved in the upstream biosynthesis of lycopodium alkaloids (LAs) such as huperzine A, contributing to the decarboxylation of lysine to 1,5-pentanediamine (cadaverine). Three lysine decarboxylase genes (HsLDC-L1, HsLDC-L2, HsLDC-L3) were successfully cloned from Huperzia serrata using transcriptomic sequence data mining strategy combined with reverse transcription PCR. The physicochemical properties, secondary and tertiary structures, amino acid identities, and evolutionary relationship of the three LDCs were analyzed by online bioinformatics analysis platforms and DNAMAN, MEGA 7.0 software, revealing that all of these proteins had the conserved PLP binding domain and active site residues were completely conserved in LDCs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these LDCs were located in the same branch as other known LDCs from LA-producing plants. Accordingly, the ORFs of these three HsLDCs were inserted into different expression plasmids for further expression in E. coli. However, only HsLDC-L1 was successfully expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) by inserting into a pCold TF vector. The recombinant protein was purified by Ni²⁺ affinity chromatography purification. HsLDC-L1 contains 469 amino acid residues, with a calculated molecular weight of 50.50 kDa. HsLDC-L1 expectedly catalyzed the decarboxylation of lysine to produce cadaverine. In addition, HsLDC-L1 can also catalyze the generation of putrescine from ornithine. However, it cannot catalyze the decarboxylation of tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and histidine. The results not only provide insight into the biosynthesis of LAs including huperzine A, but also provide a critical genetic element for the overproduction of Δ¹-piperideine and pelletierine, the essential biosynthetic precursors of LAs, using synthetic biology strategies.

Organic acids are widely distributed in plants and related products, and participate in a wide range of metabolic pathways (e.g. tricarboxylic acid cycle), showing diverse pharmacological activities. As a widely used Chinese patent medicine, its adverse reactions are often reported. Therefore, we should further clarify the chemical components of Shenfu injection, and prepare strict quality standards to ensure the safety and effectiveness of its clinical use. Shenfu injection is prepared from red ginseng (steamed roots of Panax ginseng) and black prepared lateral roots of Aconitum carmichaelii (Heishunpian) by using modern extraction process, and organic acids are regarded as one of its main components. In current study, a hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) coupled with mass spectrometric method (HILIC-LC-MS) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 14 organic acids, including cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, 4-hydroxylbenzoic acid, L-(+)-lactic acid, adipic acid, fumaric acid, caffeic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, malonic acid, D-malic acid, (-)-shikimic acid, D-tartaric acid, and quinic acid in Shenfu injection. Satisfactory retention and separation were achieved for all organic acids on HILIC chromatographic column. Except cinnamic acid (231 μg•L⁻¹), lactic acid (113 μg•L⁻¹) and malonic acid (32.5 μg•L⁻¹), the limit of quantitation for the remaining 11 compounds were less than 10 μg•L⁻¹. D-Malic acid, malonic acid, quinic acid, L-(+)-lactic acid, and cinnamic acid were observed to have higher contents in Shenfu injection (>1.89 mg•L⁻¹), whereas caffeic acid and adipic acid were undetectable in all batches. Above all, the developed method is suitable for the simultaneous determination of organic acids in Shenfu and some other traditional Chinese medicine injections.

Acylation conducted by acyltransferase is a ubiquitous process in structure modification of secondary metabolites. It plays an important role in the structural diversity of natural products and contributes significantly to their improved stabilities, increased solubilities, and enhanced bioavailabilities. BAHD acyltransferase family is a typical kind of acyltransferase original from plants, which involved in the biosynthesis of various bioactive acylated natural products. In order to provide references for future investigations of BAHD acyltransferase family, research progresses on basic properties, three-dimensional structures, catalytic mechanisms, enzymatic functional identifications and phylogenetic analyses of BAHD family from plants is summarized in this paper.

Chalcone isomerases (CHIs) play an essential role in the biosynthesis of flavonoids important in plant self-defense. Based on the transcriptome data of Aquilaria sinensis Calli, a full-length cDNA sequence of CHI1 (termed as AsCHI1) was cloned by reverse transcription PCR. AsCHI1 contains a complete open frame (ORF) of 654 bp. The deduced protein is composed of 217 amino acids, with a predicted molecular weight of 23.11 kDa. The sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that AsCHI1 has conserved most of the active site residues in type I CHIs, indicating a close relationship with the CHI from Gossypium hirsutum. The recombinant AsCHI1 protein was obtained by heterologous expression of AsCHI1 in E. coli BL21(DE3). The purified AsCHI1 protein exhibited CHI activity by catalyzing the production of naringenin from naringenin chalcone. Remarkably, AsCHI1 expression in A. sinensis Calli treated with various abiotic stresses including salt, mannitol, cold, and heavy metals could be markedly increased, and plant hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA3), and salicylic acid (SA) could also increase the expression of AsCHI1, suggesting that AsCHI1 might play an important role in plant self-defense. The results expand our understanding of the biosynthesis of flavonoids in A. sinensis and give further insight into the defensive responses of A. sinensis to abiotic and biotic stresses.

The MYB gene family comprises one of the richest groups of transcription factors in plants. The full length of two MYB genes were isolated through heterologous screening of Aquilaria sinensis calli transcriptome data, and the reverse transcription PCR was performed to obstain the corrected MYB clones, named AsMYB1, AsMYB2. The MYB transmembrane domain and phylogenetic analysis were predicted by different software to analyze the bioinformatics of MYB proteins. The transcript level of AsMYB1, AsMYB2 was performed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in different tissues and in responds to abiotic stresses including salt, cold, metal and drought stress, and hormone treatments including abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), gibberellins (GA3) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. The AsMYB1 cDNA sequence had an ORF of 1 063 nucleotides, encoding a protein of 353 amino acids. The largest AsMYB2 ORF was 1 081 nucleotides, and its predicted translation products consisted of 359 amino acids. Two MYB genes had a tissues-specific pattern in A. sinensis. Moreover, the expression level of AsMYB1 and AsMYB2 was regulated by different abiotic stresses and hormone treatments, suggesting the transcription factors AsMYB1 and AsMYB2 play an important role in plant defense and hormone signal transduction in A. sinensis.