New flavanol and cycloartane glucosides from Landoltia punctata

Allelopathic inhibition of the extracts of Landoltia punctata on Microcystis aeruginosa

To study the allelopathic effect of the extracts of Landoltia punctata, the changes of cell density of Microcystis aeruginosa were measured. The anti-algae allelopathic effect of different organic solvent extracts of L. punctata was evaluated, and the physiological, biochemical indexes were determined to discuss the mechanism of algal inhibition. The results showed that the petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts showed various inhibitory effects on M. aeruginosa. Among them, ethyl acetate extract was the most strongly allelopathic part with the semi-effect concentration(EC₅₀) of 59.6 mg L^-1, the central polarity part of inhibitory activity. The contents of chlorophyll a(Chl a) and phycobiliproteins(PBPs) of M. aeruginosa were decreased under the concentration of 200 mg L^-1 ethyl acetate extract, which indicated that the photosynthesis of M. aeruginosa was inhibited. The consent of microcystins was lower compared to control under 200 mg L^-1. The contents of superoxide dismutase(SOD), malondialdehyde(MDA) and hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂) of cell pellets were firstly increased and then decreased, which suggested that the algal cells were seriously damaged by oxidation. The results indicated that the extracts of L. punctata had inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa, and the ethyl acetate extract was the central part of the inhibitory substances, which affected photosynthesis and caused peroxidation damage to inhibit cell proliferation. These findings will be helpful for exploration and application of allelopathic effects of L. punctata in harmful algae control.

Flavone-associated resistance of two Lemna species to duckweed weevil attack

Lemna perpusilla and Lemna minor are free-floating plants that often live in the same habitat. However, little is known about how they differ in response to herbivore attacks. In this study, we examined the species-specific resistance of two Lemna species to the duckweed weevil, Tanysphyrus lemnae. The female adults of T. lemnae preferred to lay eggs on L. perpusilla over L. minor. In addition, the larvae of T. lemnae performed better when fed on L. perpusilla than on L. minor. To understand the physiological basis of species-specific resistance in the two Lemna species, we measured the amounts of jasmonic acid (JA), phytosterols, and flavonoids. Attacks by duckweed weevils increased the levels of JA in the two Lemna species, but these levels did not differ significantly between the two species. Interestingly, the levels of flavones (isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin) in L. minor species were higher than those in L. perpusilla. The in vitro bioassay showed that three flavones significantly decreased the survival rate of duckweed weevil larvae. Although L. perpusilla was less resistant to duckweed weevil attack compared to L. minor, L. perpusilla grew faster than L. minor regardless of the duckweed weevil attack. These results suggest that these two Lemna species have different defense strategies against the duckweed weevil.

Antitumor Profile of Carbon-Bridged Steroids (CBS) and Triterpenoids

This review focuses on the rare group of carbon-bridged steroids (CBS) and triterpenoids found in various natural sources such as green, yellow-green, and red algae, marine sponges, soft corals, ascidians, starfish, and other marine invertebrates. In addition, this group of rare lipids is found in amoebas, fungi, fungal endophytes, and plants. For convenience, the presented CBS and triterpenoids are divided into four groups, which include: (a) CBS and triterpenoids containing a cyclopropane group; (b) CBS and triterpenoids with cyclopropane ring in the side chain; (c) CBS and triterpenoids containing a cyclobutane group; (d) CBS and triterpenoids containing cyclopentane, cyclohexane or cycloheptane moieties. For the comparative characterization of the antitumor profile, we have added several semi- and synthetic CBS and triterpenoids, with various additional rings, to identify possible promising sources for pharmacologists and the pharmaceutical industry. About 300 CBS and triterpenoids are presented in this review, which demonstrate a wide range of biological activities, but the most pronounced antitumor profile. The review summarizes biological activities both determined experimentally and estimated using the well-known PASS software. According to the data obtained, two-thirds of CBS and triterpenoids show moderate activity levels with a confidence level of 70 to 90%; however, one third of these lipids demonstrate strong antitumor activity with a confidence level exceeding 90%. Several CBS and triterpenoids, from different lipid groups, demonstrate selective action on different types of tumor cells such as renal cancer, sarcoma, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, lymphocytic leukemia, myeloid leukemia, liver cancer, and genitourinary cancer with varying degrees of confidence. In addition, the review presents graphical images of the antitumor profile of both individual CBS and triterpenoids groups and individual compounds.

Flavonoids from duckweeds: potential applications in the human diet

Duckweeds are the smallest free-floating flowering aquatic plants. Their biotechnological applications include their use as food, bioenergy, and environmental sustainability, as they can help clean polluted water. The high growth capacity and their chemical properties make them suitable for human health applications. Here we evaluated the ethanolic extracts from five species of duckweeds by HPLC-DAD/MS-MS for chemical characterization. Sixteen compounds were identified and quantified, in which three were chlorogenic acid derivatives and eleven apigenin and luteolin derivatives. We describe for the first time the presence in duckweeds of 5-O-(E)-caffeoylquinic acid (1), 3-O-(E)-coumaroylquinic acid (2), luteolin-7-O-glucoside-C-glucoside (3), 4-O-(E)-coumaroylquinic acid (4), luteolin-6-C-glucoside-8-C-rhamnoside (5), and luteolin-8-C-glucoside-6-C-rhamnoside (6). The flavonoids diversity showed a significant content of luteolin and its derivatives, except for Landoltia punctata that had significant apigenin content. Flavones identified in duckweeds were mostly C-glycosides, which can benefit human diets, and its abundance seems to be related to the higher antioxidant and anticancer capacities of Wolffiella caudata, Wolffia borealis, and Landoltia punctata. Our findings reinforce the idea that duckweeds could be valuable additives to the human diet, and their potential should be further explored.

Structural identification and UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS2 analysis of flavonoids in the aquatic plant Landoltia punctata and their in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities

Duckweeds have long been consumed as vegetables in several South Asian countries. In this study of the chemical constituents of duckweed Landoltia punctata, a new compound, apigenin 6-C-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), and a previously LC-MS identified compound, quercetin 3-O-β-D-apiofuranoside (3), as well as three known compounds, luteolin 6-C-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), apigenin 6-C-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), and luteolin 7-O-neohespirodise (5), were isolated and identified on the basis of MS and NMR spectroscopic analyses and chemical derivations. In total, 24 flavonoids were identified in L. punctata 0001 by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS². In DPPH and ABTS assays, 3 exhibited significant antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 4.03 ± 1.31 µg/mL and 14.9 ± 2.28 µg/mL, respectively. In in vivo antioxidant activity assays, 1 significantly increased the survival rate of juglone-exposed Caenorhabditis elegans by 2 to 3-fold, and by 75% following thermal damage. Compounds 1-5 exhibited moderate scavenging capacities of intracellular reactive oxygen species in C. elegans exposed to H₂O₂.

Triterpenoids

Covering 2014. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2017, 34, 90-122 This review covers the isolation and structure determination of triterpenoids reported during 2014 including squalene derivatives, lanostanes, holostanes, cycloartanes, cucurbitanes, dammaranes, euphanes, tirucallanes, tetranortriterpenoids, quassinoids, lupanes, oleananes, friedelanes, ursanes, hopanes, serratanes, isomalabaricanes and saponins; 374 references are cited.

High flavonoid accompanied with high starch accumulation triggered by nutrient starvation in bioenergy crop duckweed (Landoltia punctata)

Background

As the fastest growing plant, duckweed can thrive on anthropogenic wastewater. The purple-backed duckweed, Landoltia punctata, is rich in starch and flavonoids. However, the molecular biological basis of high flavonoid and low lignin content remains largely unknown, as does the best method to combine nutrients removed from sewage and the utilization value improvement of duckweed biomass.

Results

A combined omics study was performed to investigate the biosynthesis of flavonoid and the metabolic flux changes in L. punctata grown in different culture medium. Phenylalanine metabolism related transcripts were identified and carefully analyzed. Expression quantification results showed that most of the flavonoid biosynthetic transcripts were relatively highly expressed, while most lignin-related transcripts were poorly expressed or failed to be detected by iTRAQ based proteomic analyses. This explains why duckweed has a much lower lignin percentage and higher flavonoid content than most other plants. Growing in distilled water, expression of most flavonoid-related transcripts were increased, while most were decreased in uniconazole treated L. punctata (1/6 × Hoagland + 800 mg•L^-1 uniconazole). When L. punctata was cultivated in full nutrient medium (1/6 × Hoagland), more than half of these transcripts were increased, however others were suppressed. Metabolome results showed that a total of 20 flavonoid compounds were separated by HPLC in L. punctata grown in uniconazole and full nutrient medium. The quantities of all 20 compounds were decreased by uniconazole, while 11 were increased and 6 decreased when grown in full nutrient medium. Nutrient starvation resulted in an obvious purple accumulation on the underside of each frond.

Conclusions

The high flavonoid and low lignin content of L. punctata appears to be predominantly caused by the flavonoid-directed metabolic flux. Nutrient starvation is the best option to obtain high starch and flavonoid accumulation simultaneously in a short time for biofuels fermentation and natural products isolation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3559-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.