In vitro: |
Planta. 2012 Jan;235(1):217-23. | Endogenous hydrogen peroxide is a key factor in the yeast extract-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia.[Pubmed: 22086110] | Biphenyls are unique phytoalexins produced by plants belonging to Pyrinae, a subtribe of the economically important Rosaceae family. The formation of Aucuparin, a well-known biphenyl, is induced by yeast extract (YE) in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia. However, the molecular mechanism underlying YE-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Here we demonstrate that the addition of YE to the cell cultures results in a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS; H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-)), followed by transcriptional activation of the biphenyl synthase 1 gene (BIS1) encoding the key enzyme of the biphenyl biosynthetic pathway and Aucuparin accumulation. Pretreatment of the cell cultures with ROS scavenger dihydrolipoic acid and NADPH oxidase-specific inhibitor diphenylene iodonium abolished all of the above YE-induced biological events. However, when the cell cultures was pretreated with superoxide dismutase specific inhibitor N,N-diethyldithiocarbamic acid, although O(2) (-) continued to be generated, the H(2)O(2) accumulation, BIS1 expression and Aucuparin production were blocked. Interestingly, exogenous supply of H(2)O(2) in the range of 0.05-10 mM failed to induce Aucuparin accumulation. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that endogenous generation of H(2)O(2) rather than that of O(2) (-) is a key factor in YE-induced accumulation of biphenyl phytoalexins in cell cultures of S. aucuparia. | Chem Biodivers. 2009 May;6(5):774-8. | A new dibenzofuran and further constituents from the stems of Pourthiaea lucida with inhibitory activity on superoxide generation by neutrophils.[Pubmed: 19479843 ] | METHODS AND RESULTS:
A new dibenzofuran, lucidafuran (1), was isolated from the stems of Pourthiaea lucida, together with eight known compounds. The structure of this new compound was determined through NMR and mass-spectrometric analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
Among the isolated compounds, lucidafuran (1) and Aucuparin (3) exhibited potent inhibitory activity against fMLP-induced superoxide (O(*-)(2)) production by human neutrophils with IC(50) values of 18.7+/-4.4 and 17.0+/-6.8 microM, resp. |
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