Allicin is an organosulfur compound obtained from garlic, a species in the family Alliaceae. It was first isolated and studied in the laboratory by Chester J. Cavallito and John Hays Bailey in 1944. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, the enzyme alliinase converts alliin into allicin, which is responsible for the aroma of fresh garlic. The allicin generated is unstable and quickly changes into a series of other sulfur-containing compounds such as diallyl disulfide. Allicin is part of a defense mechanism against attacks by pests on the garlic plant.
Carpobrotus edulis is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus Carpobrotus, native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant or highway ice plant.
Camptotheca is a genus of medium-sized deciduous trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall, native to southern China and Tibet. The genus is usually included in the tupelo family Nyssaceae, but sometimes included in the dogwood family Cornaceae.
Quercitrin is a glycoside formed from the flavonoid quercetin and the deoxy sugar rhamnose.
Polygodial is chemical compound found in dorrigo pepper, mountain pepper, horopito, canelo, paracress, water-pepper, and Dendrodoris limbata.
Camptothecin (CPT) is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It was discovered in 1966 by M. E. Wall and M. C. Wani in systematic screening of natural products for anticancer drugs. It was isolated from the bark and stem of Camptotheca acuminata, a tree native to China used in traditional Chinese medicine. It has been used clinically more recently in China for the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. CPT showed anticancer activity in preliminary clinical trials, especially against breast, ovarian, colon, lung, and stomach cancers. However, it has low solubility and adverse effects have been reported when used therapeutically, so synthetic and medicinal chemists have developed numerous syntheses of camptothecin and various derivatives to increase the benefits of the chemical, with good results. Four CPT analogues have been approved and are used in cancer chemotherapy today, topotecan, irinotecan, belotecan, and trastuzumab deruxtecan. Camptothecin has also been found in other plants including Chonemorpha fragrans.
Anacardic acids are phenolic lipids, chemical compounds found in the shell of the cashew nut. An acid form of urushiol, they also cause an allergic skin rash on contact, known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. Anacardic acid is a yellow liquid. It is partially miscible with ethanol and ether, but nearly immiscible with water. Chemically, anacardic acid is a mixture of several closely related organic compounds. Each consists of a salicylic acid substituted with an alkyl chain that has 15 or 17 carbon atoms. The alkyl group may be saturated or unsaturated; anacardic acid is a mixture of saturated and unsaturated molecules. The exact mixture depends on the species of the plant. The 15-carbon unsaturated side chain compound found in the cashew plant is lethal to Gram-positive bacteria.
Uvaricin is a bis(tetrahydrofuranoid) fatty acid lactone that was first isolated in 1982 from the roots of the Annonaceae Uvaria acuminata. Uvaricin was the first known example in a class of compounds known as acetogenins. Acetogenins, which are found in plants of the family Annonaceae, seem to kill cells by inhibiting NADH dehydrogenase in the mitochondrion. A method to synthesize uvaricin was first published in 1998, and an improved stereoselective synthesis published in 2001.
Trifolin is a chemical compound. It is the kaempferol 3-galactoside. It can be found in Camptotheca acuminata, in Euphorbia condylocarpa or in Consolida oliveriana.
A type proanthocyanidins are a specific type of proanthocyanidins, which are a class of flavonoid. Proanthocyanidins fall under a wide range of names in the nutritional and scientific vernacular, including oligomeric proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, polyphenols, condensed tannins, and OPCs. Proanthocyanidins were first popularized by French scientist Jacques Masquelier.
A quinone methide is a type of conjugated organic compound that contain a cyclohexadiene with a carbonyl and an exocyclic methylidene or extended alkene unit. It is analogous to a quinone, but having one of the double bonded oxygens replaced with a carbon. The carbonyl and methylidene are usually oriented either ortho or para to each other. There are some examples of transient synthetic meta quinone methides.
Geranium niveum is a plant species in the genus Geranium.
Methyl gallate is a phenolic compound. It is the methyl ester of gallic acid.
Geranin A is an A type proanthocyanidin of the propelargonidin sub type. Its structure is epi-afzelechin-(4β→8, 2β→O→7)-afzelechin.
Secalonic acids are a group of chiral dimeric tetrahydroxanthones closely related to ergoflavin and ergochrysin A that are collectively called ergochromes and belong to a class of mycotoxins initially isolated as major ergot pigments from the fungi Claviceps purpurea that grows parasitically on rye grasses. From early times and particularly in medieval Europe the consumption of grains containing ergot has repeatedly lead to mass poisonings known as ergotism which was caused by toxic ergot alkaloids and mycotoxins such as the ergochromes, due to contamination of flour by C. purpurea. A cluster of genes responsible for the synthesis of secalonic acids in C. purpurea has been identified. Secalonic acid D the enantiomer of secalonic acid A is a major environmental toxin, isolated from the fungus Penicillium oxalicum, and is a major microbial contaminant of freshly-harvested corn which causes toxicity through contamination of foodstuffs.
Avicularin is a bio-active flavonol isolated from a number of plants including Polygonum aviculare, Rhododendron aureum and Taxillus kaempferi.
Taxillus kaempferi is a parasitic plant species in the genus Taxillus found in China, Bhutan and Japan. Its host is Pinus thunbergii.
Taxillusin is a flavonol found in the parasitic plant Taxillus kaempferi. It is a galloylated 3-O-glucoside of quercetin.
Pawhuskin A is a naturally occurring prenylated stilbene isolated from Dalea purpurea which acts as a competitive silent antagonist of the κ-, μ-, and δ-opioid receptors. The compound was named after Pawhuska, Oklahoma, a place near where the samples of Dalea purpurea that led to its discovery were taken from. Other isolates of the plant with affinity for opioid receptors include Pawhuskin B and Pawhuskin C, though these compounds produce comparatively weak opioid receptor displacement relative to Pawhuskin A. Dalea purpurea was used in traditional Native American medicine to treat various ailments, and pawhuskin A and related isolates may be some of the constituents of the plant which underlay this use.
Viridiflorol is a chemical compound, classified as a sesquiterpenoid, that has been isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Melaleuca quinquenervia, Melaleuca alternifolia, and Allophylus edulis.
