Distribution and evolution of secondary metabolites in Eriocaulaceae, Lythraceae and Velloziaceae from "campos rupestres"

Abstract

els such as genera, species and infraspecific categories. Another class of compounds that has deserved much attention, not only in plant but also in insect taxonomy, are hydrocarbons, in particular alkanes (Hamilton, 1995). Both classes of secondary metabolites combine the advantages of universal occurrence in vascular plants, chemical stability and the availability of rapid isolation and identification methods (Harborne, 1998).In spite of the widespread use of secondary metabolites in taxonomy they have never achieved the same status as characters for the establishment of phyletic relationships among plant taxa as macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, which have recently received much attention in molecular systematics (Hillis et al., 1996). Inferences regarding the evolution of secondary metabolites depend on comparisons with dendrograms obtained through cladistic techniques based on wide sets of "traditional" morphologic or molecular characters. This paper discusses the development of secondary metabolite patterns in taxa of three families, Eriocaulaceae, Lythraceae and Velloziaceae, which are widely distributed in the campos rupestres, mountainous ecosystems found in the Espinhaço Mountains of the Brazilian States of Minas Gerais and Bahia. We also discuss the evolution of the distribution of secondary metabolites based on recent cladistic analyses, taking into account the distribution of secondary metabolites such as the flavonoids of Eriocaulaceae and Lythraceae, the alkanes of the foliar waxes of Velloziaceae and the fatty acids of Lythraceae. FLAVONOIDS EriocaulaceaeThe Eriocaulaceae are pantropical monocotyledons readily characterized by congested capitulla. The family comprises about 1100 species of which 700 occur in the New World, particularly on higher altitude mountains in Minas Gerais and Bahia (Giulietti and Pirani, 1988 AbstractHypotheses are presented on the evolution of structural patterns of secondary metabolites (flavonoids and foliar wax alkanes) and fatty acids of families of "campos rupestres". The distribution of fatty acids is given for genera of Lythraceae, with emphasis on Cuphea (supposedly more advanced) and Diplusodon. Compounds with saturated short chains represent a derived condition in Lythraceae although they are probably restricted to Cuphea. It is suggested that evolution selected for more complex flavonoid patterns in Cuphea, with the inclusion of C-glycoflavones and methoxylated flavonols (rhamnetin and isorhamnetin), which are not found in members of Diplusodon and Lafoensia. The supposedly primitive groups of Eriocaulaceae (e.g., Paepalanthus) presented more complex flavonoid patterns characterized by flavones and flavonols, the latter frequently being 6-hydroxylated or methoxylated. More advanced groups of Eriocaulaceae (e.g., Leiothrix and Syngonanthus) apparently possess only flavones, C-glycoflavones are a salient feature of species with smaller habits. In Velloziaceae, members of the primitive subfamily Vellozioideae show distribution of alkanes of foli...

Chemistry in Eriocaulaceae

“…This data suggested a close alignment between Leiothrix/Syngonanthus and distinguished this group from Eriocaulon/Paepalanthus. Besides flavonoids, Salatino et al (1990) reported the contents of soluble phenolic compounds from the capitulae of eight species of Eriocaulaceae. Ho and Chen (2002) identified new flavan and hispidulin derivatives from the capitula of Eriocaulon buergerianum Koern.…”

Variability of the Foliar Phenol Profiles of the Agave victoriae-reginae Complex (Agavaceae).

“…The species of Agave here analyzed showed some chemical characters reported by Salatino et al (2000) as primitive in Ericaulaceae (a monocotyledonous family), such as complex patterns of fl avonoids (formed by several different types of phenols). Some chemical features, such as the accumulation of methylated fl avonoids, considered as evolved for Pinus (Kaundun and Lebreton, 2010), were found in this study (compound 69, an isorhamnetin derivative) for plants from Lerdo, Bustamante, and Viesca, all belonging to A. victoriae-reginae s.str.…”

蕨类植物治疗人类疾病的应用概况

“…These compounds are the main producers of the colors of blooming plants (Koes et al, 2005). In early studies, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, apigenin, luteolin, and gallic acid were reported in angiosperms including the Hamamelidae, Rutaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Lythraceae, and Velloziaceae (Grieve and Scora, 1980;Giannasi, 1986;Salatino et al, 2000). Several phenolic compounds, such as p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid, gallic acid, vanillic acid, and flavonoids like luteolin, apigenin, have also been identified in seagrasses (Subhashini et al, 2013).…”