Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are the leading plant toxins associated with disease in humans and animals. Upon ingestion, metabolic activation in liver converts the parent compounds into highly reactive electrophiles capable of reacting with cellular macromolecules forming adducts which may initiate acute or chronic toxicity. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids present a serious health risk to human populati...

The basic properties of many pyrrolizidine alkaloids are well known l.5, A lthough they have been isolated from representatives of about 13 plant fami lies, they occur most abundantly in the large genera sen~cio (Asteraceae), Crola/aria (Papilionaceae) and in many members of Boraginaceae including Heliotropium and CynoglossUlI1. More recently they have been detected in LepidopheraJ,4 Over 75 sp...

Twenty-seven pyrrolizidine alkaloids were identified by a detailed phytochemical study and GC/MS analysis on twelve Bulgarian species from genus Senecio. Twenty of them are new for the corresponding species. Other six structures remain tentatively identified.

Poisons are common in nature, where they often serve the organism in chemical defense. Such poisons either are produced de novo or are sequestered from dietary sources or symbiotic organisms. Among vertebrates, amphibians are notable for the wide range of noxious agents that are contained in granular skin glands. These compounds include amines, peptides, proteins, steroids, and both water-solub...

A flexible method for the diastereoselective total synthesis of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids uniflorine A, casuarine, australine, and 3-epi-australine and the unnatural epimer 3,7-di-epi-australine from a common chiral 2,5-dihydropyrrole precursor is described.

Spithioneines A and B (1 and 2), two new bohemamine-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids possessing an unusual ergothioneine moiety, were isolated from a marine-derived Streptomyces spinoverrucosus. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, CD spectra, and chemical degradation and synthesis. Compounds 1 and 2 are rare natural products that incorporate the amino acid ergothioneine.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural toxins with multiple toxicities such as hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity to the human body. As a new risk factor in agricultural products, pyrrolizidine have been widely concerned. Efficient sensitive detection technology is an important means for effective supervision of PAs products. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry most ...