Bei der Farbreaktion von Tryptophan bzw. dessen Methylester mit 4-Dimethyl-aminobenzaldehyd und auch mit einigen anderen Aldehyden konnten 2,2'-Diindolylmethane 3 sowie 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-0-carboline 4 isoliert werden.Reaction of Tryptophan with Aldehydes: 2,2'-Diindolylmethanes.The color reaction of tryptophan or its methyl ester with 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde and other aldehydes yields 2,2'-diindolylmethanes 3 and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-0-carbolines 4 which were isolated.

No abstract

No abstract

While the apparent mutual exclusiveness of anthocyanins and betalains in the Caryophyllales has given rise to considerable taxonomic debate, historical factors affecting the present distribution of these compounds have rarely been discussed. An understanding of pigment evolution in the order is hindered by a number of unresolved systematic issues and a lack of knowledge of the importance of anthocyanins and betalains beyond their roles in pollination and seed dispersal. The hypothesis that betalains arose in an unpigmented ancestor of the Chenopodiinae in response to selection from pollinators cannot be rejected, but scant evidence exists in favor of it. Questions persist regarding whether the most recent ancestor to the Chenopodiinae presented a pigmented floral display and whether the appropriate pollinators were present at this time to select for floral pigmentation. In view of these ambiguities and the possible non-monophyly of the Chenopodiinae we consider some alternative scenarios and suggest potentially rewarding avenues for future research. We discuss roles for anthocyanins and betalains beyond their use as optical attractants, possible costs and benefits associated with producing each pigment type, and the possibility that they may have cooccurred in an ancestor for some period of time.

Flavonoids, such as daidzein and genistein, present in dietary plants like soybean, have unique chemical properties with biological activity relevant to cancer. Many flavonoids and polyphenols, including resveratrol in red wine and epigallocatechin gallate in green tea, are known antioxidants. Some of these compounds have estrogenic (and antiestrogenic) activity and are commonly referred to as phytoestrogens. A yeast-based estrogen receptor (ER) reporter assay has been used to measure the ability of flavonoids to bind to ER and activate estrogen responsive genes. Recently, estrogenic compounds were also shown to trigger rapid, nongenomic effects. The molecular mechanisms, however, have not been completely detailed and little information exists regarding their relevance to cancer progression. As a preliminary step toward elucidating rapid phytoestrogen action on breast cancer cells, we investigated the effect of 17-beta estradiol (E2), genistein, daidzein and resveratrol on the activation status of signaling proteins that regulate cell survival and invasion, the cell properties underlying breast cancer progression. The effect of these estrogenic compounds on the activation, via phosphorylation, of Akt/protein kinase B (Akt) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) were analyzed in ER-positive and -negative human breast cancer cell lines. E2, genistein and daidzein increased whereas resveratrol decreased both Akt and FAK phosphorylation in nonmetastatic ER-positive T47D cells. In metastatic ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cells, all estrogenic compounds tested increased Akt and FAK phosphorylation. The inhibitory action of resveratrol on cell survival and proliferation is ER dependent. Therefore, all estrogenic compounds tested, including resveratrol, may exert supplementary ER-independent nongenomic effects on cell survival and migration in breast cancer cells.