secondary metabolite

Solanum nigrum is a common weed in arable land, while being used in traditional medicine around the world due to its remarkable levels of valuable secondary metabolites. Agronomic and biological techniques can alter the production of a specific metabolite by influencing plant growth and metabolism. The effects of colonization with three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), including Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizoglomus intraradices, and Rhizoglomus fasciculatum, on the chemical composition of S. nigrum fruits were evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis...

Obesity is one of the most important threats to human health. Besides existing pharmacological or clinical interventions, novel effective and largely available solutions are still necessary. Among diverse natural resources, microalgae are well known for their complexity in the production of novel secondary metabolites. At the same time, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known for their capacity to metabolize, through fermentation, different matrices, and consequently to modify or produce new compounds with potential bioactivity...

Terpenoids are the largest class of natural products, found across all domains of life. One of the most abundant bacterial terpenoids is the volatile odorant 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), partially responsible for the earthy smell of soil and musty taste of contaminated water. Many bacterial 2-MIB biosynthetic gene clusters were thought to encode a conserved transcription factor, named EshA in the model soil bacterium Streptomyces griseus . Here, we revise the function of EshA, now referred to as Sg Enc, and show that it is a Family 2B encapsulin shell protein...

Isoflavones, the major secondary metabolites of interest due to their benefits to both human and plant health, are exclusively produced by legumes. In this study, we profiled the isoflavone content in dry seeds from 211 soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] accessions grown across five environments. Broad and discernible phenotypic variations were observed among accessions, regions, and years of growth. Twenty-six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the sum of glycitein (GLE), glycitin (GL), 6″-O-acetylglycitin (AGL), and 6″-O-malonylglycitin (MGL) contents were detected in multiple environments via a genome-wide association study (GWAS)...

Plant cytochrome P450 (CYP) superfamily, the largest enzyme metabolism family, has been identified in many species and plays a vital role in plant development and stress response via secondary metabolite biosynthesis. A comprehensive identification and functional investigation of CYPs in tomato plants would contribute to deeper understanding of their biological significance. In this study, 268 tomato CYP genes were identified and found to be unevenly located on 12 chromosomes. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, these 268 SlCYPs were classed into two distinct clades (A-type and non-A-type) and nine clans, including 48 families...

Condensed tannins are widely present in the fruits and seeds of plants and effectively prevent them from being eaten by animals before maturity due to their astringent taste. In addition, condensed tannins are a natural compound with strong antioxidant properties and significant antibacterial effects. Four samples of mature and near-mature Quercus fabri acorns, with the highest and lowest condensed tannin content, were used for genome-based transcriptome sequencing. The KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were highly enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism...

Aflatoxins are highly carcinogenic secondary metabolites of some fungal species, particularly Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxins often contaminate economically important agricultural commodities, including peanuts, posing a high risk to human and animal health. Due to the narrow genetic base, peanut cultivars demonstrate limited resistance to fungal pathogens. Therefore, numerous wild peanut species with tolerance to Aspergillus have received substantial consideration by scientists as sources of disease resistance...

Desmodium gangeticum (L.) belonging to family Fabaceae is an economically important medicinal plant which isutilised in Dashmoolarishta. Various bioactive compounds have been isolated from whole plant and roots, and one of them is an important phenolic compound - caffeic acid (CA). This phenolic acid and its derivatives have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and hepatocarcinoma, a highly aggressive and causing considerable mortality across the world. In the present study, leaf explants were placed on MS medium fortified with different concentration of cytokinin (BA/Kn) and auxin (IAA/NAA) for establishing callus cultures...

The family Orchidaceae is of the most diverse taxon in the plant kingdom, and most of its members are highly valuable herbal medicines. Orchids have a unique mycorrhizal symbiotic relationship with specific fungi for carbohydrate and nutrient supplies in their whole lifecycle. The large-scale cultivation of the medicinal plant Gastodia elata is a successful example of using mycorrhizal symbiotic technology. In this review, we adopted G. elata and Dendrobium officinale as examples to describe the characteristics of orchid mycorrhiza and mycorrhizal benefits for host plants' growth and health (e...

Rhizosphere microorganisms, as one of the most important components of the soil microbiota and plant holobiont, play a key role in the medicinal plant-soil ecosystem, which are closely related to the growth, adaptability, nutrient absorption, stress tolerance and pathogen resistance of host plants. In recent years, with the wide application of molecular biology and omics technologies, the outcomes of rhizosphere microorganisms on the health, biomass production and secondary metabolite biosynthesis of medicinal plants have received extensive attention...

Microbial resource influences the life activities of medicinal plants from several perspectives. Endophytes, rhizosphere microorganisms, and other environmental microorganisms play essential roles in medicinal plant growth and development, plant yield, and clinical efficacy. The microbiota can influence the biosynthesis of active compounds in medicinal plants by stimulating specific metabolic pathways. They induce host plants to improve their resistance to environmental stresses by accumulating secondary metabolites...

OBJECTIVE: To study secondary metabolites from endophytic fungus Colletotruchum sp. HK-08 originated from the leaves of Nerium indicum . METHODS: The compounds were isolated by various column chromatographic techniques, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques [high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS), one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR)], as well as comparison with literature data...

Traditional Chinese herbal medicines not only cure human diseases, but also play an important role as insecticides. Compared with conventional chemical agents, traditional Chinese herbal medicines are characterized by low toxicity, low residues, and being eco-friendly, and they have become a research hotspot. Traditional Chinese herbal medicines have tremendous flexibility and indefinite potential. Therefore, this paper reviewed the types of insecticides belonging to traditional Chinese herbal medicines in Inner Mongolia, China, including their traditional uses, secondary metabolites, biological activities, action mechanisms, application methods, and development status...

Medicinal plants, as medicinal materials and important drug components, have been used in traditional and folk medicine for ages. However, being sessile organisms, they are seriously affected by extreme environmental conditions and abiotic stresses such as salt, heavy metal, temperature, and water stresses. Medicinal plants usually produce specific secondary metabolites to survive such stresses, and these metabolites can often be used for treating human diseases. Recently, medicinal plants have been found to partner with endophytic fungi to form a long-term, stable, and win-win symbiotic relationship...

The intestinal tract encompasses one of the largest mucosal surfaces with a well-structured layer of intestinal epithelial cells supported by a network of underlying lamina propria immune cells maintaining barrier integrity. The commensal microflora in this environment is a major contributor to such functional outcomes due to its prominent role in the production of secondary metabolites. Of the several known metabolites of gut microbial origin, such as Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs), amino acid derivatives, etc...

Plant alkaloids are nitrogen containing secondary metabolites that have wide range of biological properties including anticancer activity. ' Lasiosiphon glaucus', or ' Gnidia glauca (Fresen.) Gilg,' known for its biological properties, requires exploration to evaluate cytotoxic and anticancer effects. The present study is aimed to evaluate L. glaucus leaf alkaloid extract (LgLAE) for antimitotic, thrombolytic, and cytotoxic properties. LgLAE demonstrated comparable antimitotic efficacy to methotrexate in Allium cepa root meristematic cells...

This research on Lamiales epidermal anatomy not only provides in-depth understanding of their structural traits but also highlights the significance of uncovering the inherent antimicrobial resilience embedded within these plants. Such insights hold promise for advancing natural product-based approaches in medicine, potentially contributing to the development of novel antimicrobial agents inspired by Lamiales unique biological defense mechanisms. Scanning microscopic tools were utilized to conduct foliar epidermal anatomy of nine species that belong to seven genera and four families within the Lamiales order, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Verbenaceae, and Lamiaceae...

In the Medicago genus, saponins are complex mixtures of triterpene pentacyclic glycosides extensively studied for their different and economically relevant biological and pharmaceutical properties. This research is aimed at determining for the first time the tissue and cellular localization of triterpene saponins in vegetative organs of Medicago truncatula, a model plant species for legumes, by histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that saponins are present mainly in the palisade mesophyll layer of leaves, whereas in stems they are mostly located in the primary phloem and the subepidermal cells of cortical parenchyma...

Despite being one of the most abundant elements in soil, phosphorus (P) often becomes a limiting macronutrient for plants due to its low bioavailability, primarily locked away in insoluble organic and inorganic forms. Phosphate solubilizing and mineralizing bacteria, also called phosphobacteria, isolated from P-deficient soils have emerged as a promising biofertilizer alternative, capable of converting these recalcitrant P forms into plant-available phosphates. Three such phosphobacteria strains-Serratia sp...

Plants produce a diverse range of secondary metabolites that serve as defense compounds against a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, their potential curative attributes in addressing various human diseases render them valuable in the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Different secondary metabolites including phenolics, terpenes, and alkaloids have been investigated for their antioxidant and therapeutic potential. A vast number of studies evaluated the specific compounds that possess crucial medicinal properties (such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, and antibacterial), their mechanisms of action, and potential applications in pharmacology and medicine...