Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena are investigating the previously largely unknown biosynthetic pathway that leads to the formation of cardenolides in plants.
In a study published in the journal Nature Plants, they present two enzymes from the CYP87A family as key enzymes that catalyze the formation of pregnenolone, the precursor for the biosynthesis of plant steroids, in two different plant families. The discovery of such enzymes should help to develop platforms for the cheap and sustainable production of high quality steroid compounds for medical use.
Plants produce an impressive array of metabolites, including many medically valuable steroids. Well-known examples of this class of substances obtained from plants are cardenolides. As early as 1785, the British physician William Withering (1741–1799) published a book on the red foxglove and its use in medicine (An account of the foxglove, and some of its medical uses: with practical remarks on dropsy, and other diseases. Birmingham 1785).
He had found out in experiments that taking extracts of the plant increased the flow of urine in sick people, thus treating water retention in the body. However, he did not know that the active ingredients in foxglove leaves had a direct effect on the heart.
Since the second half of the 19th century, cardenolides, cardiac glycosides from plants, have been used to treat of heart failure or arrhythmia because of their effect on the heart muscle.
2023-09-18 10:48:03
Original from phys.org