scholarly journals Chemical Diversity, Biological Activity, and Genetic Aspects of Three Ocotea Species from the Amazon

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce da Silva ◽  
Rafaela da Trindade ◽  
Edith Moreira ◽  
José Maia ◽  
Noura Dosoky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Chemical Diversity

scholarly journals Chemical Diversity and Biological Activity of Secondary Metabolites from Soft Coral Genus Sinularia since 2013

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 335
Author(s):  
Xia Yan ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Xue Leng ◽  
Han Ouyang
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Pharmacological Activities ◽  
Lead Compounds ◽  
Coral Genus

Sinularia is one of the conspicuous soft coral species widely distributed in the world’s oceans at a depth of about 12 m. Secondary metabolites from the genus Sinularia show great chemical diversity. More than 700 secondary metabolites have been reported to date, including terpenoids, norterpenoids, steroids/steroidal glycosides, and other types. They showed a broad range of potent biological activities. There were detailed reviews on the terpenoids from Sinularia in 2013, and now, it still plays a vital role in the innovation of lead compounds for drug development. The structures, names, and pharmacological activities of compounds isolated from the genus Sinularia from 2013 to March 2021 are summarized in this review.

scholarly journals Essentials Oils from Brazilian Eugenia and Syzygium Species and Their Biological Activities

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1155
Author(s):  
Jamile S. da Costa ◽  
Ellen de Nazaré S. da Cruz ◽  
William N. Setzer ◽  
Joyce Kelly do R. da Silva ◽  
José Guilherme S. Maia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
South America ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Sesquiterpene Hydrocarbons ◽  
Leishmania Spp ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Interspecific Diversity

The Eugenia and Syzygium genera include approximately 1000 and 1800 species, respectively, and both belong to the Myrtaceae. Their species present economic and medicinal importance and pharmacological properties. Due to their chemical diversity and biological activity, we are reporting the essential oils of 48 species of these two genera, which grow in South America and found mainly in Brazil. Chemically, a total of 127 oil samples have been described and displayed a higher intraspecific and interspecific diversity for both Eugenia spp. and Syzygium spp., according to the site of collection or seasonality. The main volatile compounds were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes, mainly with caryophyllane and germacrane skeletons and monoterpenes of mostly the pinane type. The oils presented many biological activities, especially antimicrobial (antifungal and antibacterial), anticholinesterase, anticancer (breast, gastric, melanoma, prostate), antiprotozoal (Leishmania spp.), antioxidant, acaricidal, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory. These studies can contribute to the rational and economic exploration of Eugenia and Syzygium species once they have been identified as potent natural and alternative sources to the production of new herbal medicines.

scholarly journals Terpenoids from Marine Soft Coral of the Genus Xenia in 1977 to 2019

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (22) ◽  
pp. 5386
Author(s):  
Shean-Yeaw Ng ◽  
Chin-Soon Phan ◽  
Takahiro Ishii ◽  
Takashi Kamada ◽  
Toshiyuki Hamada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Coral Genus

Members of the marine soft coral genus Xenia are rich in a diversity of diterpenes. A total of 199 terpenes consisting of 14 sesquiterpenes, 180 diterpenes, and 5 steroids have been reported to date. Xenicane diterpenes were reported to be the most common chemical skeleton biosynthesized by members of this genus. Most of the literature reported the chemical diversity of Xenia collected from the coral reefs in the South China Sea and the coastal waters of Taiwan. Although there was a brief review on the terpenoids of Xenia in 2015, the present review is a comprehensive overview of the structural diversity of secondary metabolites isolated from soft coral genus Xenia and their potent biological activity as reported between 1977 to 2019.

scholarly journals Biologically active LIL proteins built with minimal chemical diversity

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (34) ◽  
pp. E4717-E4725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin N. Heim ◽  
Jez L. Marston ◽  
Ross S. Federman ◽  
Anne P. B. Edwards ◽  
Alexander G. Karabadzhak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Transmembrane Proteins ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Cellular Context ◽  
Hydrophobic Amino Acids ◽  
Β Receptor ◽  
Specific Sequences

We have constructed 26-amino acid transmembrane proteins that specifically transform cells but consist of only two different amino acids. Most proteins are long polymers of amino acids with 20 or more chemically distinct side-chains. The artificial transmembrane proteins reported here are the simplest known proteins with specific biological activity, consisting solely of an initiating methionine followed by specific sequences of leucines and isoleucines, two hydrophobic amino acids that differ only by the position of a methyl group. We designate these proteins containing leucine (L) and isoleucine (I) as LIL proteins. These proteins functionally interact with the transmembrane domain of the platelet-derived growth factor β-receptor and specifically activate the receptor to transform cells. Complete mutagenesis of these proteins identified individual amino acids required for activity, and a protein consisting solely of leucines, except for a single isoleucine at a particular position, transformed cells. These surprisingly simple proteins define the minimal chemical diversity sufficient to construct proteins with specific biological activity and change our view of what can constitute an active protein in a cellular context.

On the evolution of plant secondary chemical diversity

1991 ◽  
Vol 333 (1267) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Plant Defence ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
High Biological Activity ◽  
Active Compounds ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Secondary Chemical ◽  
Very High ◽  
High Diversity

A common-sense evolutionary scenario predicts that well-defended plants should have a moderate diversity of secondary compounds with high biological activity. We contend that plants actually contain a very high diversity of mostly inactive secondary compounds. These patterns result because compounds arising via mutation have an inherently low probability of possessing any biological activity. Only those plants that make a lot of compounds will be well defended because only high diversity confers a reasonable probability of producing active compounds. Inactive compounds are retained, not eliminated, because they increase the probability of producing new active compounds. Plants should therefore have predictable metabolic traits maximizing secondary chemical diversity while minimizing cost. Our hypothesis has important implications to the study of the evolution of plant defence.

scholarly journals Repression of Salmonella Host Cell Invasion by Aromatic Small Molecules from the Human Fecal Metabolome

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael J. M. Peixoto ◽  
Eduardo S. Alves ◽  
Melody Wang ◽  
Rosana B. R. Ferreira ◽  
Alessandra Granato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Host Cell ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Cell Invasion ◽  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Host Cell Invasion ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT The human microbiome is a collection of microorganisms that inhabit every surface of the body that is exposed to the environment, generally coexisting peacefully with their host. These microbes have important functions, such as producing vitamins, aiding in maturation of the immune system, and protecting against pathogens. We have previously shown that a small-molecule extract from the human fecal microbiome has a strong repressive effect on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium host cell invasion by modulating the expression of genes involved in this process. Here, we describe the characterization of this biological activity. Using a series of purification methods, we obtained fractions with biological activity and characterized them by mass spectrometry. These experiments revealed an abundance of aromatic compounds in the bioactive fraction. Selected compounds were obtained from commercial sources and tested with respect to their ability to repress the expression of hilA, the gene encoding the master regulator of invasion genes in Salmonella. We found that the aromatic compound 3,4-dimethylbenzoic acid acts as a strong inhibitor of hilA expression and of invasion of cultured host cells by Salmonella. Future studies should reveal the molecular details of this phenomenon, such as the signaling cascades involved in sensing this bioactive molecule. IMPORTANCE Microbes constantly sense and adapt to their environment. Often, this is achieved through the production and sensing of small extracellular molecules. The human body is colonized by complex communities of microbes, and, given their biological and chemical diversity, these ecosystems represent a platform where the production and sensing of molecules occur. In previous work, we showed that small molecules produced by microbes from the human gut can significantly impair the virulence of the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica. Here, we describe a specific compound from the human gut that produces this same effect. The results from this work not only shed light on an important biological phenomenon occurring in our bodies but also may represent an opportunity to develop drugs that can target these small-molecule interactions to protect us from enteric infections and other diseases.

scholarly journals Chemistry, Chemotaxonomy and Biological Activity of the Latrunculid Sponges (Order Poecilosclerida, Family Latrunculiidae)

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Fengjie Li ◽  
Michelle Kelly ◽  
Deniz Tasdemir
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Taxonomic Significance ◽  
The Family ◽  
Related Compounds ◽  
Anticancer Drug Discovery

Marine sponges are exceptionally prolific sources of natural products for the discovery and development of new drugs. Until now, sponges have contributed around 30% of all natural metabolites isolated from the marine environment. Family Latrunculiidae Topsent, 1922 (class Demospongiae Sollas, 1885, order Poecilosclerida Topsent, 1928) is a small sponge family comprising seven genera. Latrunculid sponges are recognized as the major reservoirs of diverse types of pyrroloiminoquinone-type alkaloids, with a myriad of biological activities, in particular, cytotoxicity, fuelling their exploration for anticancer drug discovery. Almost 100 pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids and their structurally related compounds have been reported from the family Latrunculiidae. The systematics of latrunculid sponges has had a complex history, however it is now well understood. The pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids have provided important chemotaxonomic characters for this sponge family. Latrunculid sponges have been reported to contain other types of metabolites, such as peptides (callipeltins), norditerpenes and norsesterpenes (trunculins) and macrolides (latrunculins), however, the sponges containing latrunculins and trunculins have been transferred to other sponge families. This review highlights a comprehensive literature survey spanning from the first chemical investigation of a New Zealand Latrunculia sp. in 1986 until August 2020, focusing on the chemical diversity and biological activities of secondary metabolites reported from the family Latrunculiidae. The biosynthetic (microbial) origin and the taxonomic significance of pyrroloiminoquinone related alkaloids are also discussed.

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