Dillapiole in Piper holtonii as an Inhibitor of the Symbiotic Fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus of Leaf-Cutting Ants.

Plants of the Piperaceae family are studied for their diverse secondary metabolism with a vast array of compounds that act as chemical defense agents against herbivores. Of all the agricultural pests, the management of insects is a highly significant challenge in the Neotropics, and ants of the Attini tribe pose a major problem. Due to their symbiotic association with the fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus (Möller) Singer (Agaricaceae), the species of Atta and Acromyrmex have exhaustive foraging activity which has intensified as deforestation and monoculture farming have increased.

Effects of Two Fractions of Swietenia macrophylla and Catechin on Muscle Damage Induced by BothropsVenom and PLA₂.

Plant natural products can attenuate the myonecrosis caused by snake venom and their phospholipases A₂ (PLA₂). In this study, we evaluated the effects of two fractions (F4 and F6) from and purified catechin on the muscle damage caused by a myotoxic PLA₂ from Colombian venom (BaColPLA₂) in mice and by venom from Brazil in mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm muscle (PND) preparations in vitro. Male mice were injected with PLA₂ (50 µg) in the absence or presence of F4, F6, and catechin, in the gastrocnemius muscle and then killed 3, 7, 14, and 28 h later for histopathological analysis of myonecrosis, leukocyte infiltration, and the presence of collagen.

Cytotoxic constituents from the fruiting branches of Callicarpa americana collected in southern Florida.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the combined fruits, leaves, and twigs (fruiting branches) of Callicarpa americana, collected from a plot in a forested area in southern Florida, led to the isolation of six new clerodane diterpenes (1-6) and eight known compounds. The structures of 1-6 [12(S),16xi-dihydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-15,16-olide (1), 12(S)-hydroxy-16xi-methoxycleroda-3,13-dien-15,16-olide (2), 12(S)-hydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-15,16-olide (3), 16xi-hydroxycleroda-3,11(E),13-trien-15,16-olide (4), 3beta,12(S)-dihydroxycleroda-4(18),13-dien-15,16-olide (5), and 12(S)-hydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-16,15-olide (6)] were elucidated by interpretation of spectroscopic data and chemical methods. The absolute configuration at C-12 in 1 and 3 was ascertained using the Mosher ester technique.

Survey of medical ethnobotanicals for dental and oral medicine conditions and pathologies.

Ethnomedical questionnaires were distributed in Chicago, Costa Rica, and Colombia to identify the most common over-the-counter (OTC) plant or plant-based products advocated for treating oral pain, ulcerative conditions, and cancer within these locations. Over 100 plants or plant-based herbal preparations and commercial products, purchased from local botanical markets and pharmacies, were advocated for the treatment of oral medicine conditions. Locally familiar and common language names were attributed to the plant products at the time of purchase.

Antitumour activity of 3-chlorodeoxylapachol, a naphthoquinone from Avicennia germinans collected from an experimental plot in southern Florida.

As part of an ongoing collaborative effort to discover new anticancer agents from plants, an extract obtained from the leaves and twigs of Avicennia germinans, collected in a coastal area of southern Florida, was identified as possessing cytotoxic activity in a panel of human cancer cell lines. Fractionation of the petroleum ether partition, using cytotoxicity to guide the fractionation, led to the isolation of 3-chlorodeoxylapachol. The antitumour potential of 3-chlorodeoxylapachol was demonstrated with the in-vivo hollow fibre assay, a model of antitumour activity using human cancer cell-filled fibres implanted into mice.

Cytotoxic constituents of the twigs of Simarouba glauca collected from a plot in Southern Florida.

Activity-guided fractionation of a chloroform-soluble extract of Simarouba glauca twigs collected from a plot in southern Florida, and monitored with a human epidermoid (KB) tumor cell line, afforded six canthin-6-one type alkaloid derivatives, canthin-6-one (1), 2-methoxycanthin-6-one (2), 9-methoxycanthin-6-one (3), 2-hydroxycanthin-6-one (4), 4,5-dimethoxycanthin-6-one (5) and 4,5-dihydroxycanthin-6-one (6), a limonoid, melianodiol (7), an acyclic squalene-type triterpenoid, 14-deacetyleurylene (8), two coumarins, scopoletin (9) and fraxidin (10), and two triglycerides, triolein (11) and trilinolein (12). Among these isolates, compounds 1-4, 7 and 8 exhibited cytotoxic activity against several human cancer cell lines. 14-Deacetyleurylene (8) was selectively active against the Lu1 human lung cancer cell line, but was inactive in an in vivo hollow fiber assay using this same cell type.

Constituents of the leaves and twigs of Calyptranthes pallens collected from an experimental plot in Southern Florida.

Fractionation of the chloroform-soluble extract of the leaves and twigs of Calyptranthes pallens, collected from an experimental plot in a hardwood forest of southern Florida, using a hormone-dependent human prostate carcinoma (LNCaP) tumor cell line, led to the isolation of a phloroglucinol derivative with a novel carbon skeleton, pallenic acid (1), and a new triterpenoid, 3beta-hydroxy-18alpha,19alpha-urs-20-en-28-oic acid (2). The known compound methylene-bis-aspidinol (3) was selectively active against the human oral epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cell line. Several known compounds of the ellagic acid, lignan, phloroglucinol, sterol, and triterpene types were also obtained in the present investigation.