An Efficient Method for the Isolation of Toxins from Pteridium aquilinum and Evaluation of Ptaquiloside Against Cancer and Non-cancer Cells.

The common fern, bracken (), is well known for its toxic effects on livestock due principally to the carcinogenic constituent ptaquiloside ( 1: ), although other toxins are present including the cyanogenic glycoside, prunasin ( 2: ). Here, we report an improved and relatively "green" process for the isolation of 1: and 2: from fresh bracken fronds and the evaluation of 1: for cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines. The results indicate that 1: displays selective toxicity against cancer cells relative to noncancer retinal epithelial cells, and the improved method for the isolation of 1: is expected to facilitate further exploration of its pharmacological properties.

Leiodermatolide, a novel marine natural product, has potent cytotoxic and antimitotic activity against cancer cells, appears to affect microtubule dynamics, and exhibits antitumor activity.

Pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, has a negative prognosis because metastasis occurs before symptoms manifest. Leiodermatolide, a polyketide macrolide with antimitotic activity isolated from a deep water sponge of the genus Leiodermatium, exhibits potent and selective cytotoxicity toward the pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC-1, PANC-1, BxPC-3, and MIA PaCa-2, and potent cytotoxicity against skin, breast and colon cancer cell lines. Induction of apoptosis by leiodermatolide was confirmed in the AsPC-1, BxPC-3 and MIA PaCa-2 cells.

Neopetrosiquinones A and B, sesquiterpene benzoquinones isolated from the deep-water sponge Neopetrosia cf. proxima.

Two new marine-derived sesquiterpene benzoquinones which we designate as neopetrosiquinones A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from a deep-water sponge of the family Petrosiidae. The structures were elucidated on the basis of their spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibit the in vitro proliferation of the DLD-1 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line with IC(50) values of 3.

Metabolic engineering for the production of prenylated polyphenols in transgenic legume plants using bacterial and plant prenyltransferases.

Prenylated polyphenols are secondary metabolites beneficial for human health because of their various biological activities. Metabolic engineering was performed using Streptomyces and Sophora flavescens prenyltransferase genes to produce prenylated polyphenols in transgenic legume plants. Three Streptomyces genes, NphB, SCO7190, and NovQ, whose gene products have broad substrate specificity, were overexpressed in a model legume, Lotus japonicus, in the cytosol, plastids or mitochondria with modification to induce the protein localization.

Leiodermatolide, a potent antimitotic macrolide from the marine sponge Leiodermatium sp.

Leiodermatolide is a structurally unique macrolide, isolated from the deep-water marine sponge ., which exhibits potent antiproliferative activity against a range of human cancer cell lines (IC <10 nM) and dramatic effects on spindle formation in mitotic cells. Its unprecedented polyketide skeleton and stereochemistry were established using a combination of experimental and computational (DP4) NMR methods, and molecular modelling.