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Steroidal Alkaloids
Steroidal alkaloids have organic ring backbones which feature nitrogen-based functional groups. More specifically, they are distinguished by their tetracyclic cyclopentanophenanthrene backbone that marks their close relationship with sterols. They fall in two major categories: Solanum alkaloids and Veratrum alkaloids. A Steroidal alkaloid has also been found in ''Chonemorpha fragrans'' (Frangipani vine), 'chonemorphine' was used to treat intestinal infections in Wistar rats. (Chatterjee DK et al (1987) Parasitol Res 74, 1, 30-33). ''Solanum'' alkaloids These compounds generally appear as their corresponding glycoside in plants of the genus ''Solanum''. ''Solanum'' includes plants like potatoes, tomatoes, and various nightshades Starting with cholesterol, the biosynthesis of these compounds follow a similar general mechanism including hydroxylation, oxidation, and transamination before differentiating. Alkaloids found in these plants include chaconine, solanine, solasodine, tomat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solanidine
Solanidine is a poisonous steroidal alkaloid chemical compound that occurs in plants of the family Solanaceae, such as potato and ''Solanum americanum''. Human ingestion of solanidine also occurs via the consumption of the glycoalkaloids, α-solanine and α-chaconine, present in potatoes.Kuiper-Goodman, T., Nawrot, P.S.Solanine and Chaconine IPCS Inchem The sugar portion of these glycoalkaloids hydrolyses in the body, leaving the solanidine portion. Solanidine occurs in the blood serum of normal healthy people who eat potato, and serum solanidine levels fall markedly once potato consumption ceases. Solanidine from food is also stored in the human body for prolonged periods of time, and it has been suggested that it could be released during times of metabolic stress with the potential for deleterious consequences. Solanidine is responsible for neuromuscular syndromes via cholinesterase inhibition.Everist, S.L., ''Poisonous Plants of Australia'', Angus and Robertson, 1974, . Uses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annual Review Of Cell And Developmental Biology
The ''Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews since 1985. It releases an annual volume of review articles relevant to the fields of cell biology and developmental biology. Its editor has been Ruth Lehmann since 2018; as of 2022, its impact factor is 11.902. History Beginning in 1969, scientists began to propose that the nonprofit publishing company Annual Reviews add a journal title that published review articles relevant to cell biology. Marilyn Farquhar, the 1982 president of the American Society for Cell Biology, also thought such a journal would be useful. In 1983, Farquhar and other scientists attended a meeting at Annual Reviews to plan the topics and authors for the first volume. The ''Annual Review of Cell Biology'' published its first volume in 1985, with George E. Palade as the inaugural editor. Beginning with the eleventh volume, published in 1995, the journal was published under its current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eclampsia
Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is one of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in the urine or other organ dysfunction, and edema. The diagnostic criteria for pre-eclampsia is high blood pressure occurring after 20 weeks gestation or during the second half of pregnancy. Most often it occurs during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and may occur before, during, or after childbirth, delivery. The seizures are of the tonic–clonic type and typically last about a minute. Following the seizure, there is either a postictal period, period of confusion or coma. Other complications include aspiration pneumonia, cerebral hemorrhage, kidney failure, pulmonary edema, HELLP syndrome, coagulopathy, placental abruption and cardiac arrest. Low dose aspirin is recommended to prevent pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in those at high risk. Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypotension
Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), which are the maximum and minimum blood pressures, respectively. A systolic blood pressure of less than 90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or diastolic of less than 60 mmHg is generally considered to be hypotension. Different numbers apply to children. However, in practice, blood pressure is considered too low only if noticeable symptoms are present. Symptoms include dizziness or lightheadedness, confusion, feeling tired, weakness, headache, blurred vision, nausea, neck or back pain, an irregular heartbeat or feeling that the heart is skipping beats or fluttering, or fainting. Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension, which is high blood pressure. It is best understood as a physiological st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, drooping eyelids, trouble talking, and trouble walking. Onset can be sudden. Those affected often have a large thymus or develop a thymoma. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease of the neuro-muscular junction which results from antibodies that block or destroy nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) at the junction between the nerve and muscle. This prevents nerve impulses from triggering muscle contractions. Most cases are due to immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG3 antibodies that attack AChR in the postsynaptic membrane, causing complement-mediated damage and muscle weakness. Rarely, an inherited genetic defect in the neuromuscular junction results in a similar condition known as congenital myasthenia. Babies of mothers with myasthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jervine
Jervine is a steroidal alkaloid with molecular formula C27H39NO3 which is derived from the plant genus ''Veratrum''. Similar to cyclopamine, which also occurs in the genus ''Veratrum'', it is a teratogen implicated in birth defects when consumed by animals during a certain period of their gestation. Physiological effects Jervine is a potent teratogen causing birth defects in vertebrates. In severe cases it can cause cyclopia and holoprosencephaly. Mechanism of action Jervine's biological activity is mediated via its interaction with the 7 pass trans membrane protein smoothened. Jervine binds with and inhibits smoothened, which is an integral part of the hedgehog signaling pathways. With smoothened inhibited, the GLI1 Zinc finger protein GLI1 also known as glioma-associated oncogene is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GLI1 gene. It was originally isolated from human glioblastoma cells. Function The Gli proteins are the effectors of Hedgehog (Hh) ... transcrip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclopamine
Cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine) is a naturally occurring chemical that belongs in the family of steroidal alkaloids. It is a teratogen isolated from the corn lily (''Veratrum californicum'') that causes fatal birth defects. It prevents the embryonic brain from separating into two lobes (an extreme form of holoprosencephaly), which in turn causes the development of a single eye (cyclopia). The chemical was named after this effect, as it was originally noted by Idaho lamb farmers who contacted the US Department of Agriculture after their herds gave birth to cycloptic lambs in 1957. It then took more than a decade to identify the corn lily as the culprit. Later work suggested that different rain patterns caused the sheep to graze differently, impacting the amount of corn lily ingested by pregnant sheep. The poison interrupts the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway during development, thus causing birth defects. Discovery and naming In 1957, Idaho sheep ranchers contacted the US Departm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veratridine
Veratridine is a steroidal alkaloid found in plants of the lily family, specifically the genera ''Veratrum'' and ''Schoenocaulon''. Upon absorption through the skin or mucous membranes, it acts as a neurotoxin by binding to and preventing the inactivation of voltage-gated sodium ion channels in heart, nerve, and skeletal muscle cell membranes. Veratridine increases nerve excitability and intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. Isolation Veratridine has been isolated from the seeds of ''Schoenocaulon officinale'' and from the rhizomes of ''Veratrum album.'' Like the other steroidal alkaloids found in these plants and similar ones in the Melanthiaceae family, it is present as part of a glycosidal combination, bonded to carbohydrate moieties. Early isolation methods relied on formation of the nitrate salt and then precipitation of the insoluble sulfate form. Accounts of these efforts date back to 1878, but the first true purification of veratridine is the one carried out in 1953 by Kup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards. A rhizome is the main stem of the plant that runs underground horizontally. A stolon is similar to a rhizome, but a stolon sprouts from an existing stem, has long internodes, and generates new shoots at the end, such as in the strawberry plant. In general, rhizomes have short internodes, send out roots from the bottom of the nodes, and generate new upward-growing shoots from the top of the nodes. A stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. In general, a tuber is high in starch, e.g. the potato, which is a modified stolon. The term "tuber" is often used imprecisely and is sometimes applied to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veratrum
''Veratrum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in damp habitats across much of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America. ''Veratrum'' species are vigorous herbaceous perennials with highly poisonous black rhizomes, and panicles of white or brown flowers on erect stems. In English they are known as false hellebores, false helleborines, and corn lilies. However, ''Veratrum'' is not closely related to hellebores, helleborines, corn, or lilies. File:Veratrum nigrum Ciemiężyca czarna flowers 01.jpg, '' Veratrum nigrum'' flowers, Poland File:Veratrum album subsp. oxysepalum 0807.JPG, ''Veratrum album'' subsp. ''oxysepalum'', Fukushima Prefecture, Japan File:VeratrumViride-pousses-1.jpg, ''Veratrum viride'' shoot emerging, Quebec, Canada File:Veratrum stamineum 06.jpg, ''Veratrum stamineum'' in the mountains of Japan Ecology ''Veratrum'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Setaceous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholinesterase
The enzyme cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8, choline esterase; systematic name acylcholine acylhydrolase) catalyses the hydrolysis of choline-based esters: : an acylcholine + H2O = choline + a carboxylate Several of these serve as neurotransmitters. Thus, it is either of two enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of these cholinergic neurotransmitters, such as breaking acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid. These reactions are necessary to allow a cholinergic neuron to return to its resting state after activation. For example, in muscle contraction, acetylcholine at a neuromuscular junction triggers a contraction; but for the muscle to relax afterward, rather than remaining locked in a tense state, the acetylcholine must be broken down by a choline esterase. The main type for that purpose is acetylcholinesterase (also called choline esterase I or erythrocyte cholinesterase); it is found mainly in chemical synapses and red blood cell membranes. The other type is butyrylcholinestera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
α-solanine
Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the Solanaceae, nightshade family within the genus ''Solanum'', such as the potato (''Solanum tuberosum''), the tomato (''Solanum lycopersicum''), and the eggplant (''Solanum melongena''). It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the Leaf, leaves, fruit, and tubers. Solanine has Pesticide, pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's Plant defense against herbivory, natural defenses. Solanine was first isolated in 1820 from the Berry (botany), berries of the European black nightshade (''Solanum nigrum''), after which it was named. It belongs to the chemical family of saponins. Solanine poisoning Symptoms Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmares, headache, dizziness, itching, eczema, thyroid problems, and inflammation and pain in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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