VRrnonia amygdoiina is a tropical African plant possibly used by wild chimpanzees fbr medicinal purposes.'} We have previously reported new bitter steroid glucosides, vernonioside Ai-A3, and a related vernonioside Bi from this plant,2'3) As another class of bitter constituents, four known cytotoxic sesquiterpene lactones were also isolated,`} The most possible use of this plant by chimpanzeas w...

Fresh leaves of Vernonia scorpioides are widely used in Brazil to treat a variety of skin disorders. Previous in vivo studies with extracts of this species had also demonstrated a high antitumor potential. This paper reports isolation of four sesquiterpene lactones (hirsutinolides and glaucolides), together with diacetylpiptocarphol, 8-acetyl-13-etoxypiptocarphol, luteolin, apigenin, and ethyl ...

I. Patulin 409 A. Introduction 409 B. Toxicity 410 C. Cellular Effects 412 D. Biosynthesis and Biochemical Effects 413 II. Penicillic Acid 414 A. Introduction 414 B. Chemical Properties 415 C. Analysis 416 D. Biochemistry 417 E. Biological Properties 417 F. Natural Occurrence 420 II I. Other Carcinogenic Lactones 420 A. Lactones as Alkylating Agents 420 B. Five-Membered Carcinogenic Lactones 42...

Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp.) H. Rob., Asteraceae, known as yacon, is an herb that is traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes in folk medicine. However, recent studies have demonstrated that this plant has other interesting properties such as anti-microbial and anti-infl ammatory actions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the topical anti-infl ammatory property of dif...

Xanthium strumarium L. is a traditional Chinese herb belonging to the Asteraceae family. The major bioactive components of this plant are sesquiterpene lactones (STLs), which include the xanthanolides. To date, the biogenesis of xanthanolides, especially their downstream pathway, remains largely unknown. In X. strumarium, xanthanolides primarily accumulate in its glandular trichomes. To identif...

Plants produce a vast array of natural products that mediate their interaction with the environment. Artemisinin is important sesquiterpene lactones, mostly isolated from the Artemisia annua plant, has a wide range of biological activities, including insecticidal, antibacterial and antifungal, antifeedants, and allelopathic properties. Flavonoids (rutin) have attracted attention, primarily as n...

Natural compounds represent a rich and promising source of novel, biologically active chemical entities for treating leishmaniasis. Sesquiterpene lactones are a recognized class of terpenoids with a wide spectrum of biological activities, including activity against Leishmania spp. In this work, a sesquiterpene lactone-rich preparation-a leaf rinse extract (LRE) from Tithonia diversifolia-was te...

Prompted by results of our previous studies where we found high activity of some sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (which causes East African sleeping sickness), we have now conducted a structure-(in-vitro)-activity study on a set of 40 STLs against T. brucei rhodesiense, T. cruzi, Leishmania donovani and Plasmodium falciparum. Furthermore, cytotoxic activity ...

Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp.) H. Rob., Asteraceae, known as yacon, is an herb that is traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes in folk medicine. However, recent studies have demonstrated that this plant has other interesting properties such as anti-microbial and anti-infl ammatory actions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the topical anti-infl ammatory property of dif...

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was chosen as a microbial host for heterologous biosynthesis of three different plant sesquiterpenes, namely valencene, cubebol, and patchoulol. The volatility and low solubility of the sesquiterpenes were major practical problems for quantification of the excreted sesquiterpenes. In situ separation of sesquiterpenes in a two-phase fermentation using dodecane ...