Ethnobotany and micropropagation of Asclepias curassavica L. (Apocynaceae) – a medicinally potent naturalized plant in India

AbstractMass spectrometry–based imaging (MSI) has emerged as a promising method for spatial metabolomics in plant science. Several ionisation techniques have shown great potential for the spatially resolved analysis of metabolites in plant tissue. However, limitations in technology and methodology limited the molecular information for irregular 3D surfaces with resolutions on the micrometre scale. Here, we used atmospheric-pressure 3D-surface matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (3D-surface MALDI MSI) to investigate plant chemical defence at the topographic molecular level for the model system Asclepias curassavica. Upon mechanical damage (simulating herbivore attacks) of native A. curassavica leaves, the surface of the leaves varies up to 700 μm, and cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) and other defence metabolites were exclusively detected in damaged leaf tissue but not in different regions of the same leaf. Our results indicated an increased latex flow rate towards the point of damage leading to an accumulation of defence substances in the affected area. While the concentration of cardiac glycosides showed no differences between 10 and 300 min after wounding, cardiac glycosides decreased after 24 h. The employed autofocusing AP-SMALDI MSI system provides a significant technological advancement for the visualisation of individual molecule species on irregular 3D surfaces such as native plant leaves. Our study demonstrates the enormous potential of this method in the field of plant science including primary metabolism and molecular mechanisms of plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress and symbiotic relationships. Graphical abstract

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Asclepiasterol, a novel C21 steroidal glycoside derived from Asclepias curassavica, reverses tumor multidrug resistance by down-regulating P-glycoprotein expression

Oncotarget ◽

10.18632/oncotarget.8965 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (21) ◽

pp. 31466-31483 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Wei-Qi Yuan ◽

Rong-Rong Zhang ◽

Jun Wang ◽

Yan Ma ◽

Wen-Xue Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multidrug Resistance ◽

Steroidal Glycoside ◽

Asclepias Curassavica ◽

P Glycoprotein

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Cardenolides, toxicity, and the costs of sequestration in the coevolutionary interaction between monarchs and milkweeds

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2024463118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (16) ◽

pp. e2024463118

Author(s):

Anurag A. Agrawal ◽

Katalin Böröczky ◽

Meena Haribal ◽

Amy P. Hastings ◽

Ronald A. White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Danaus Plexippus ◽

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Chemical Defenses ◽

Trade Off ◽

Asclepias Curassavica ◽

Plant Chemical ◽

Whole Plants ◽

Benefits And Costs

For highly specialized insect herbivores, plant chemical defenses are often co-opted as cues for oviposition and sequestration. In such interactions, can plants evolve novel defenses, pushing herbivores to trade off benefits of specialization with costs of coping with toxins? We tested how variation in milkweed toxins (cardenolides) impacted monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) growth, sequestration, and oviposition when consuming tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), one of two critical host plants worldwide. The most abundant leaf toxin, highly apolar and thiazolidine ring–containing voruscharin, accounted for 40% of leaf cardenolides, negatively predicted caterpillar growth, and was not sequestered. Using whole plants and purified voruscharin, we show that monarch caterpillars convert voruscharin to calotropin and calactin in vivo, imposing a burden on growth. As shown by in vitro experiments, this conversion is facilitated by temperature and alkaline pH. We next employed toxin-target site experiments with isolated cardenolides and the monarch’s neural Na+/K+-ATPase, revealing that voruscharin is highly inhibitory compared with several standards and sequestered cardenolides. The monarch’s typical >50-fold enhanced resistance to cardenolides compared with sensitive animals was absent for voruscharin, suggesting highly specific plant defense. Finally, oviposition was greatest on intermediate cardenolide plants, supporting the notion of a trade-off between benefits and costs of sequestration for this highly specialized herbivore. There is apparently ample opportunity for continued coevolution between monarchs and milkweeds, although the diffuse nature of the interaction, due to migration and interaction with multiple milkweeds, may limit the ability of monarchs to counteradapt.

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Nematospora gossypii. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

IMI Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria ◽

10.1079/dfb/20056400185 ◽

1968 ◽

Author(s):

K. G. Mukerji

Keyword(s):

Geographical Distribution ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Hibiscus Cannabinus ◽

Phaseolus Lunatus ◽

Dry Rot ◽

Asclepias Curassavica ◽

Datura Metel ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

High Sugar Content ◽

Boll Rot

Abstract A description is provided for Nematospora gossypii. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: On Gossypium hirsutum. Also on Abutilon spp., Asclepias curassavica, Centrosema plumieri, Citrus aurantium, C. nobilis, Coffea arabica, C. robusta, Datura metel, Glycine max, Gossypium herbaceum var. africanum, Gossypium spp., Hibiscus cannabinus, H. esculentus, H. vitifolius, Lycopersicum esculentum, Persea gratissima, Phaseolus lunatus, P. mungo, P. vulgaris, Sida spp., Sterculia platanifolia, Thespesia garckeana and Vigna spp. (30: 124). DISEASES: Internal Boll Rot or staining of Cotton or Stigmatomycosis. The lint fibres become dirty yellowish-brown and the seed coat is stained with brown spots. With age the lint loosens from the seeds and becomes reduced to a papery membrane. The fungus forms a mat on the seed surface but does not penetrate this unless already mechanically injured. Infection results either in premature dropping of the bolls or in a drying out of those which remain on the plant. The discolouration of the lint is due to toxins produced by the fungus (Pearson & Maxwell Darling, 1958). A number of factors affect the degree of infection of cotton bolls such as age, sugar content of the bolls and humidity. Young bolls with high sugar content are highly susceptible. Incidence of infection increases with increase in humidity (27: 361; 39: 230). In coffee it causes dry rot, the beans become black and shrunken. Leguminous seeds become dry, shrivelled and dark. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Africa (Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda), Asia (Burma, India); Central America and the Caribbean and U.S.A. (CMI Map 153, ed. 3, 1959; 30: 124; 39: 413). TRANSMISSION: The fungus is mechanically transmitted from plant to plant on the mouth parts of hemipterous insects (10: 519; 18: 309; Wickens, 1942; Pearson & Maxwell Darling, 1958) including species of Dysdercus (cotton strainers), Nezara (green bug), Leptoglossus (leaf-footed tomato bug), Phthia (red tomato bug), Antestia (coffee bug) and Callidea. Of these, species of Dysdercus are the more common carriers. The fungus may enter through an open wound but generally infection accompanies insect punctures. The needle shaped ascospores are especially well adapted for this mode of infection (29: 211). The fungus is not a soil inhabitant but may persist in a viable condition from one season to the next on fallen diseased bolls in damp conditions as well as in insect exuviae. The fungus survives in the seeds of malvaceous plants in the off-season and from these it is carried to the cotton crop by migrant adults of Dysdercus (Pearson & Maxwell Darling, 1958).

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Secondary Metabolites of Asclepias curassavica (Apocynaceae) and its Effects on Food Preference and Mortality of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture ◽

10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i8.2135 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 583

Author(s):

Renato Marcos De Leão ◽

João Vitor Souza Cruz ◽

Vânia Maria Ramos ◽

Viviane Tavares De Almeida ◽

Pedro Henrique Gorni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Secondary Metabolites ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Spodoptera Frugiperda ◽

Food Preference ◽

Ethanolic Extract ◽

Parallel Analysis ◽

Total Polyphenols ◽

Asclepias Curassavica ◽

Preference Index ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Asclepias curassavica L. plant is toxic for vertebrates, and little is known about its effects on invertebrates, as well as whether its secondary metabolites have an influence on food preference and survival of insects. Thus, a study was conducted to verify the action of A. curassavica on Spodoptera frugiperda J.E.Smith. The plants were collected, dried and ground to compose a crude ethanolic extract. Food tests were carried out with and without opportunity of choice, using corn leaf discs immersed in the extract at concentrations of 1%, 2% and 4%, for assessment of food consumption (g) and preference index. Later, the extract was topically applied on second- and fifth-instar caterpillars, at concentrations of 1%, 2%, 4% and 6%, in order to observe its effect on survival. In parallel, analysis was conducted to verify the presence and measure the amount of total polyphenols and flavonoids in the extract. There was contact action between the extract and second-instar caterpillars at all concentrations, with treatment 6% causing 100% of mortality 72 hours after application. None of the treatments promoted contact action on fifth-instar caterpillars. In food tests with and without opportunity of choice, all treatments caused reductions in consumption, which classified all as phagodeterrent, with treatment 4% standing out as the least favorite. The presence of total polyphenols and flavonoids was found in the extract, presenting 58.75 ug/mL and 150.1 ug/mL, respectively. The A. curassavica extract proved promising in S. frugiperda control.

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