4legre, RS, Brasil .$BSTR.xT.-The review presents a glossary of the bisbenzylisoquinoline a k aloids. The following information is tahulated: structural formulas of all the bisbenzj-lisoquinoline alkaloids (BBI) with their molecular formulas: molecular n-eights: mp and : a ]~ values: uv, ord, nnir, mass data: degradation methods applied to determine their striictures: and sourres. -i list of the plants n-ith the particular part studied and the BBI alkaloidis) isolated from each source is furnished. In addition, this article summarizes the distribution of different t>-pes of BBI alkaloids in differenf genera, methods of isolation, and degradative techniques applied for structure elucidation.Since the days of the earliest commercial drug preparations, viz., R a d i i pareira bratae, Bebeeriiim pirrum and Curare (the arron-poison of South A%merican Indians), natural products chemists and pharmacognosists have been interested in the bisbenzylisoquinoline (BBI) alkaloid-because of their diverse formulations and varied pharniacological effects. Several reviews on the BBIs are already available (1-Sa). The article by Shamma ( 7 ) covers different chenlical aspects of thi. field and has intensified the long-felt need for a glossary of these alkaloids containing all information nece.sarj-for a natural product chemist searching for nen-BBI alkaloid-.BBI alkaloids are built up of tn-o benzylisoquinoline (BI) units linked by ether bridges. In addition to this ether linkage. methr lenosy bridging or direct carbon carbon bonding is also found between the two BI units. A variety of structural patterns arise in the BBI molecules due to differences in (1.) the number of aromatic oxygen subqtituent-present ; (2.) the number of ether linkage>; (3.) the nature of ether bridges, viz., diphen! 1 ether or benzylphenyl ether: and (4.) the sites on the tn-o BI unit-at n hich the ether or the carbon carbon bond originates. Based on these differences. the BBI alkaloids are claqsified into the groups and subgroups as shon n in table 1.Individual members in each group differ simplJ-in (1.) the nature of the osygenated substituents (OH, OMe, OCH,O) : (2.) the nature of substitution of the t n o nitrogen atonis ISH. S l l e , S -l I e r 3 S O ) ; (3.) the degree of unsaturation of the hetero ring.: and (4.) the stereochemistrj-of the tu-o asymmetric centers. BOTAA ICAL bocmE.-DiW-ibution of the different groups of BBI alkaloids in different genera and the botanical sources of these alkaloids are depicted in tables 2 and 3 respectively. Ecological factors affect the nature and amount of BBI alkaloids in plants. Cissampelos pareira Linn. from Kashmir yielded h a p t i n e (So. 1 3 i ,table 4) and hayatinine (So. 138. table 4) (both S S I type); xhereas a plant from Pilibhit yielded hayatine and curine ( S o . 133, table 4) (=.anie type), but no hayatinine (10); the plants from lladra. and Madagascar contained, in addition to hayatine and curine, isocliondodendrine ( S o . 122. table 4) (S type), which was not found in the extracts from Pilibh...

Angioplasty procedures are increasingly used to reestablish blood flow in blocked atherosclerotic coronary arteries. A serious complication of these procedures is reocclusion (restenosis), which occurs in 30-50% of patients. Migration of coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMCs) to the site of injury caused by angioplasty and subsequent proliferation are suggested mechanisms of reocclusion. Using both cultured human CASMCs and coronary atherectomy tissues, we studied the roles of osteopontin (OPN) and one of its receptors, ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin, in the pathogenesis of coronary restenosis. We also measured the plasma levels of OPN before and after angioplasty and determined the effect of exogenous OPN on CASMC migration, extracellular matrix invasion, and proliferation. We found that cultured CASMCs during log phase of growth and smooth muscle cell layer of the coronary atherosclerotic tissues of patients express both OPN mRNA and protein at a significantly elevated level compared with controls. Interestingly, whereas the baseline plasma OPN levels in control samples were virtually undetectable, those in patient plasma were remarkably high. We also found that interaction of OPN with ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin, expressed on CASMCs, causes migration, extracellular matrix invasion, and proliferation. These effects were abolished when OPN or ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin gene expression in CASMCs was inhibited by specific antisense S-oligonucleotide treatment or OPN-␣ v ␤ 3 interaction was blocked by treatment of CASMCs with antibodies against OPN or ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin. Our results demonstrate that OPN and ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin play critical roles in regulating cellular functions deemed essential for restenosis. In addition, these results raise the possibility that transient inhibition of OPN gene expression or blocking of OPN-␣ v ␤ 3 interaction may provide a therapeutic approach to preventing restenosis.

Research on wound healing drugs is a developing area in modern biomedical sciences. Scientists who are trying to develop newer drugs from natural resources are looking toward the Ayurveda, the Indian traditional system of medicine. Several drugs of plant, mineral, and animal origin are described in the Ayurveda for their wound healing properties under the term Vranaropaka. Most of these drugs are derived from plant origin. Some of these plants have been screened scientifically for the evaluation of their wound healing activity in different pharmacological models and patients, but the potential of most remains unexplored. In a few cases, active chemical constituents were identified. Some Ayurvedic medicinal plants, namely, Ficus bengalensis, Cynodon dactylon, Symplocos racemosa, Rubia cordifolia, Pterocarpus santalinus, Ficus racemosa, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Berberis aristata, Curcuma longa, Centella asiatica, Euphorbia nerifolia, and Aloe vera, were found to be effective in experimental models. This paper presents a limited review of plants used in Ayurvedic medicine.

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