
Unraveling the Biosynthesis of Pilocarpine in Pilocarpus microphyllus
2015; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 10; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/1934578x1501000506
ISSN1934-578X
AutoresAlexandra Christine Helena Frankland Sawaya, Yanna Dias Costa, Paulo Mazzafera,
Tópico(s)Berberine and alkaloids research
ResumoPilocarpine is found exclusively in species of Pilocarpus and the presence of other imidazole alkaloids has been reported in several species of the genus. Pilocarpine has several important pharmaceutical applications. Although several imidazole alkaloids related to pilocarpine have been reported in the previous years, little is still known about its biosynthetic route. At most, histidine has been reported as the precursor of pilocarpine. Based on our own previous reports and in an experiment where pilocarpine and related alkaloids (pilosine, trachyllophiline and anhydropilosine) were supplied to P. microphyllus leaves and the alkaloid profile analyzed by UPLC-MS, we suggest a biosynthesis pathway for pilocarpine. Further experiments using labeled precursors associated with transcriptome data may allow us to understand the whole biosynthesis pathway and its genetic control.
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