Journal of Natural Products and Natural Products Synthesis

Isolation, characterization and semi-synthesis of natural products dimeric amide alkaloids V. Rama Sub

V. Rama Subbarao, J. Madhusudana Rao

The awesome structural diversity and complexity of natural products inspire many chemists to consider how nature creates these molecules. Nature’s biosynthetic enzymes offer a powerful and practical route to many organic compounds, and synthetic chemists sometimes seek to imitate the efficiency and elegance of the biosynthetic machinery by designing biomimetic reactions that approximate natural reaction pathways. Probably the most astonishing biomimetic reactions1 are tandem processes that combine several transformations in sequence and produce complicated structures from comparably simple starting materials in a single laboratory operation. Biosynthesis is described as “the reaction or reaction sequence occurred in organism or its immediate environment will be viewed as biosynthesis” whereas biomimetic synthesis describes as “A specific reaction or a sequence of reactions that mimic a proposed biological pathway is defined as bimimetic synthesis. An early example is Sir Robert Robinson’s landmark synthesis of tropinone in 1917.2 Forty-two years later, Gilbert Stork and Albert Eschenmoser independently proposed that the steroid ring system could be formed by tandem cation-π cyclizations of a polyene in an ordered transition state.3 A non-enzymatic version of this reaction type was demonstrated in W. S. Johnson’s classic synthesis of progesterone in 1971.4 Chapman’s synthesis of carpanone is a striking example of the power of  biomimetic strategies.5 In 1980, Black proposed that the endiandric acids could arise biosynthetically from linear polyenes.6 In 1982, K. C. Nicolaou gave chemical support to Black’s hypothesis by chemically synthesizing endiandric acids A-G.7 Biomimetic 

Can the Natural Products Industry Combat Climate Change

Suryakiran Navath

As its name implies, natural products are those that are derived from nature rather than manufactured by industrial processes. The history of natural products runs simultaneously with human history as humans had to rely on nature for essential materials like wood, milk, silk, and coal for sustenance, fuel, and shelter. It was, in fact, our research into natural products that led to advancements in fields like organic chemistry, allowing us to synthesize similar materials that exhibit the properties of their natural counterparts. 

Micro RNA regulation of nodule zone-specific gene expression in soybean

Md Ehsanul Haque1, Most Shanaj Parvin

Nitrogen is a paramount important essential element for all living organisms. It has been found to be a crucial structural component of proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and other cellular constituents which are inevitable for all forms of life. In the atmosphere, the percentage of nitrogen is very high (N2, 78%) compared to other inorganic gases. However, most organisms have practically no direct access to this nitrogen. While plants can not directly uptake nitrogen from atmosphere, they are capable of assimilating other forms of nitrogen, for example ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-). For agricultural crop production, artificial fixation of nitrogen is heavily utilized and it is an expensive process that requires high temperatures (at least 400 °C) and pressures (around 200 atm).

It has been conspicuously demonstrated that indiscriminate use of fertilizer hampers soil physical, chemical and micro biological properties and also a potential risk to environment e.g. water quality. Besides, chemically manufactured fertilizers are depleted from soils in various ways, for instance; denitrifying bacteria, volatilization, and leaching. Consequently, it results relatively poor availability of nitrogen to get into plants. On the flipside, only 1-2% of the nitrogen fixation in the world occurs through the natural process of lightening. Notably, microbial fixation is well characterized in diazotrophs for example; Rhizobia and Frankia, and blue-green algae. Against the backdrop, we are accentuated on an environmentally friendly and the most sustainable approach to increase productivity for legume and non-legume crops. Till today, the term biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) has received much attention as a sustainable alternative; this process facilitates atmospheric nitrogen to convert into ammonia by rhizobia in specialized plan organs termed “root nodules”. This review article seeks to better understand plant mechanisms involved in the development of root nodules in soybean.  

Relaxatsion Responses To Extracts of Polygonum Hydropiper (L) In Porcine Coronary Artery: Role of Potassium Channel

Amna Batool, Mohammad Saleem, Alamgeer, Richard Roberts

Polygonum hydropiper (L) is commonly known as “smart weed” that is used traditionally for the management of hypertension. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of P. hydropiper extracts on vasorelaxation using porcine coronary artery rings.Segments of porcine coronary artery were mounted for isometric tension recording in isolated tissue baths and pre-contracted with the thromboxane A2 analog U46619.After pre-contraction, cumulative concentrations of P. hydropiper extracts were added to the tissues to determine the fraction with greatest activity. A variety of inhibitors of intracellular signaling pathways were then utilized in order to determine the mechanism of relaxation. P. hydropiper extracts produced a concentration dependent relaxation of the porcine coronary artery, with the butanol soluble fraction producing the greatest response. The relaxation to the butanol soluble extract was not reduced by removal of endothelium indicating endothelium-independent mechanism of relaxation.

Furthermore, the relaxation was unaffected by removal of extracellular calcium, and pre-incubation with the extract had no effect on contractions due to influx of extracellular calcium or release of intracellular calcium. However, relaxation responses were decreased in the presence of potassium channel blockers. Relaxation responses to sodium nitroprusside and forskolin were enhanced by the presence of the butanol soluble extract, suggesting phosphodiesterase inhibitory action. Indeed, relaxation responses to the PDE 4 and PDE 5 inhibitors rolipram and sildenafil were similarly inhibited by potassium channel blockers, indicating that the effect of the butanol extract on potassium channels may be related to phosphodiesterase activity. Theobromine and gallic acid identified as constituents of butanol soluble fraction of P. hydropiper, also produced a relaxation that was inhibited by potassium channel blockers, suggesting that the vascular activity of butanol soluble fraction of P. hydropiper may be due to the presence of theses compound.  In conclusion, butanol soluble fraction of P. hydropiper produces relaxation in porcine coronary artery, which is dependent upon opening of potassium channel, potentially downstream of phosphodiesterase inhibition. 

Isolation, characterization chemical and biological properties of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from the sponge Dysidea herbacea

Suryakiran.Navath

Isolation, charectirisation chemical and bilogical properties of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from the sponge Dysidea herbacea is described. The sponge Dysidea herbacea was collected from the Mandapam Coast, Tamilnadu, India. Isolated gram quantities of hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ether (HO-PBDE) and semi-synthesized a series of new PBDEs derivatives and tested them for antibacterial and cytotoxic activities.

Determination of Arsenic in Minor Cereals (Barley, Foxtail Millet, Proso-Millet, Finger- Millet, Pearl-Millet, Buckwheat. Oat, Quinoa and Sorghum) in Gazipur, Bangladesh

Most. Shanaj Parvin, Md Ehsanul Haque, Fahmida Akhter, Mubarak Ali

Cereal grains are the most important source of the world’s total food and also the major accumulator of toxic arsenic. Arsenic distributes in the environment via contaminated ground water which is used as drinking water and irrigated in the crop field. Chronic arsenic toxicity can be lethal for liver, kidney, bladder, lung, skin. Skin hyperpigmentation and hyperkeratosis are common exposure related phenotypes. Therefore, it's high time to produce ideal cereals that must contain a lower amount of arsenic and ensure safety for all kinds of lives. Ensuring safe food is one of the objectives of sustainable development goal-2 (SDG-2). With this view in mind, the Plant Breeding Division of BARI currently working with nine minor kinds of cereal included Barley, Foxtail millet, Proso-millet, Finger-millet, Pearl-millet, Buckwheat, Oat, Quinoa, and BARI-Sorghum 1 were undertaken for biochemical analysis of arsenic on their leaves. The biochemical analysis of these nine kinds of minor cerealsshowed negligible amount of arsenic on leaves. Further analysis in other location in Bangladesh might bring the overall picture of arsenic uptake in minor cereals.