Furoquinoline Alkaloids and Methoxyflavones from the Stem Bark of Melicope madagascariensis (Baker) T.G. Hartley.

Melicope madagascariensis (Rutaceae) is an endemic plant species of Madagascar that was first classified as a member of the genus Euodia J. R. & G.

Trafficking pathways of mycolic acids: structures, origin, mechanism of formation, and storage form of mycobacteric acids.

Mycolic acids, the hallmark of mycobacteria and related bacteria, are major and specific components of their cell envelope and essential for the mycobacterial survival. Mycobacteria contain structurally related long-chain lipids, but the metabolic relationships between these various classes of compounds remain obscure. To address this question a series of C(35) to C(54) nonhydroxylated fatty acids (mycobacteric acids), ketones, and alcohols structurally related to the C(70-80) dicyclopropanated or diethylenic mycolic acids were characterized in three mycobacterial strains and their structures compared.

Pregnane glycosides from Baseonema acuminatum.

Two new pregnane glycosides, baseonemoside A and B, were isolated from the aerial parts of Baseonema acuminatum. Their structures were established as pregn-5-ene-3beta,16alpha,20(S)-triol 3-O-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranoside 20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-digitalopyranoside 1 and pregn-5-ene-3beta,16alpha,20(S)-triol 3-O-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranoside 20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-digitalopyranoside 2, respectively, on the basis of spectral evidence and chemical transformation.

Spheroplast fusion as a mode of genetic recombination in mycobacteria.

Spheroplasts were prepared from two carotenoid pigment mutants of Mycobacterium aurum named NgR9 and A11, which were obtained by the chemical mutagenesis of the wild type strain A+ with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. The carotenoid pigments and the alpha- and beta-mycolic acids were taken as genetic markers and the recombinants were selected on the basis of their colour on Löwenstein-Jensen medium. Spheroplasts of the two mutants were mixed in a 1:1 ratio and were treated with 40% (w/v) polyethylene glycol 6000 for 5 min at 37 degrees C.

Branched fatty acids from Mycobacterium aurum.

New methyl-branched fatty acids were isolated from the lipids of Mycobacterium aurum, belonging to both saturated and non-saturated series. The most abundant component of the former series was identified as a C22-mycosanoic acid (2-L, 4-L-dimethyleicosanoic acid). The unsaturated fraction contained a mixture of 2-L, 4-L-dimethyl-11-eicosenoic acid and 2-L, 4-L-dimethyl-14-eicosenoic acid.