No abstract

Galphimia glauca is a plant that is endemic to Mexico and has been commonly used since pre-Hispanic times to treat various illnesses, including central nervous system disorders and inflammation. The first studies investigating a natural population of G . glauca in Mexico showed that the plant has anxiolytic and sedative activities in mice and humans. The plant’s bioactive compounds were isolated and identified, and they belong to a family of nor -secofriedelanes called galphimines. The integration of DNA barcoding and thin-layer chromatography analysis was performed to clarify whether the botanical classification of the populations in the study, which were collected in different regions of Mexico, as G . glauca was correct or if the populations consist of more than one species of the genus Galphimia . We employed six DNA barcodes ( matK , rbcL , rpoC1 , psbA-trnH , ITS1 and ITS2 ) that were analyzed individually and in combination and then compared each other, to indicate differences among the studied populations. In the phylogenetic analysis, ITS1 and ITS2 markers as well as the combination of all DNA regions were the most efficient for discriminating the population studied. The thin-layer chromatography analysis exhibited four principal chemical profiles, one of which corresponded to the populations that produced galphimines. DNA barcoding was consistent and enabled us to differentiate the populations that produce galphimines from those that do not. The results of this investigation suggest that the studied populations belong to at least four different species of the genus Galphimia . The phylogenetic analysis and the thin-layer chromatography chemical profiles were convenient tools for establishing a strong relationship between the genotype and phenotype of the studied populations and could be used for quality control purposes to prepare herbal medicines from plants of the genus Galphimia .

No abstract

Plant photograph, TLC and HPLC analysis of the extracts, as well as EIMS, FABMS, NMR, and ECD materials of paleacenins A (1) and B (2) (PDF)■ AUTHOR INFORMATION

No abstract

The genus Galphimia is widely distributed in Mexico, and is represented by 22 species, including medicinal species. The sedative and anti-inflammatory effects of galphimines produced by the species Galphimia glauca have been documented. Formerly, molecular studies using DNA barcodes demonstrated that nine populations botanically classified as Galphimia glauca belong to four different species of the genus Galphimia, and that only one exhibited the sedative properties; however, all the collected species showed anti-inflammatory activity. Other bioactive compounds like quercetin, galphins, galphimidins and glaucacetalins have been identified from methanolic extracts of plants botanically classified as Galphimia glauca. The aim of this work was to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of methanolic extracts of nine collected Galphimia spp. populations grown in Mexico. The possible modes of action were analyzed by evaluating the inhibition of LPS-induced inflammation processes both in vitro and in vivo. The nine populations were evaluated by an in vitro model using RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells, and two populations (a galphimine-producing and a non-galphimine-producing population) were selected for the in vivo experiments of systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation in mice. Results suggest that an anti-inflammatory in vitro effect was present in all the studied populations, evidenced by the inhibition of nitrite production. An inhibitory systemic inflammation in mice was exerted by the two analyzed populations. In the neuroinflammation model, the anti-inflammatory effect was demonstrated in methanolic extract of the non-galphimine-producing population. For the populations of Galphimia spp. studied herein, the anti-inflammatory effect could not be correlated to the presence of galphimines.

Globins (Glbs) are proteins widely distributed in organisms. Three evolutionary families have been identified in Glbs: the M, S and T Glb families. The M Glbs include flavohemoglobins (fHbs) and single-domain Glbs (SDgbs); the S Glbs include globin-coupled sensors (GCSs), protoglobins and sensor single domain globins, and the T Glbs include truncated Glbs (tHbs). Structurally, the M and S Glbs exhibit 3/3-folding whereas the T Glbs exhibit 2/2-folding. Glbs are widespread in bacteria, including several rhizobial genomes. However, only few rhizobial Glbs have been characterized. Hence, we characterized Glbs from 62 rhizobial genomes using bioinformatics methods such as data mining in databases, sequence alignment, phenogram construction and protein modeling. Also, we analyzed soluble extracts from Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA38 and USDA58 by (reduced + carbon monoxide (CO) minus reduced) differential spectroscopy. Database searching showed that only fhb, sdgb, gcs and thb genes exist in the rhizobia analyzed in this work. Promoter analysis revealed that apparently several rhizobial glb genes are not regulated by a -10 promoter but might be regulated by -35 and Fnr (fumarate-nitrate reduction regulator)-like promoters. Mapping analysis revealed that rhizobial fhbs and thbs are flanked by a variety of genes whereas several rhizobial sdgbs and gcss are flanked by genes coding for proteins involved in the metabolism of nitrates and nitrites and chemotaxis, respectively. Phenetic analysis showed that rhizobial Glbs segregate into the M, S and T Glb families, while structural analysis showed that predicted rhizobial SDgbs and fHbs and GCSs globin domain and tHbs fold into the 3/3- and 2/2-folding, respectively. Spectra from B. japonicum USDA38 and USDA58 soluble extracts exhibited peaks and troughs characteristic of bacterial and vertebrate Glbs thus indicating that putative Glbs are synthesized in B. japonicum USDA38 and USDA58.