Unsaturated Pyrrolizidines from Borage (Borago officinalis), a Common Garden Herb

Abstract

Communications 747 pies were air dried, then subjected to steam distillation, according to the usual techniques (10). The yields are reported in Table1.The oils obtained were dried with anhydrous Na2S04, filtered, and sealed in glass vials under N2 atmosphere.The volatile oils were each analyzed by glc on a Carlo Erba (FID) instrument, using a 30 m X 0.25 mm fused silica capillary column containing a 0.25 (Am film of SE-54. Hydrogen was used as the carrier gas, adjusted to a linear velocity of 33 cm/sec (measured at 150°); split flow was adjusted to give a 20:1 ratio, and septum sweep was a constant 10 ml/min. Splitless injection of 2 µ , of a 1:1000 -hexane solution was followed by a delay of 30 sec before beginning purge. Injection was done with the oven at 50°. After a 3 min initial wait, the temperature was programmed at 6°/min to 230°.The oils were submitted to gc/ms separation on a Finnigan 4021 quadrupole mass spectrometer, which includes on INCOS data system, coupled to a gc equipped with an identical 30m SE-54 fused silica capillary column. Injection and oven-programming temperature were the same as above except a 4°/min gradient was used. The ms was in El mode at 70eV. The quadrupole filter was scanned from 34 to 434 daltons once every second and resulting spectra were stored on a disc for latter recall.

Borage and evening primrose oil

“…Fortunately, the latter are present at low enough levels not to be poisonous [24,25]. Nevertheless, Wretensjo and Karlberg [26] examined the pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of crude BO before and after alkali refining, bleaching and deodorization.…”

Effects of plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids on the northern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla

“…Their PAs have been identified (Larson et al 1984;Kim et al 2001;Wiedenfeld and Andrade-Cetto 2001;Wiedenfeld et al 2006) and these species have also been part of nematode host studies and/or studies concerning nematicidal effects of plant extracts made from them (Moreno et al 1992;McSorley and Frederick 1994;Walker et al 1994;Brinkmann et al 1996;Lordello and Lordello 1996;Bernard and Jennings 1997;Dias et al 2000;Costa et al 2001).…”

Pharmacological basis for the use of Borago officinalis in gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders

“…Decoction of the plant is used as nerve and cardiac tonic and a home remedy for blood purification (Kybal, 1980). Phytochemical studies reveal the presence of tannins, resins, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, silicic acid, choline arabinose, unsaturated pyrrolizidines alkaloids including amabiline (Duke, 1992), lycopsamine and supinidine (Larson et al, 1984), polyphenolics including phenolic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, p-hydroxy benzoic acid, gentisic acid, caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid, scopoletin and flavonoids (Gudej and Tomczyk, 1996).…”