Three key benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic enzymes, (S)-N-methylcoclaurine-3'-hydroxylase (CYP80B1), berberine bridge enzyme (BBE), and codeinone reductase (COR), were localized in cultured opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) cells by sucrose density gradient fractionation and immunogold labeling. CYP80B1 catalyzes the second to last step in the formation of (S)-reticuline, the last common...

Vascular smooth muscle contraction is primarily regulated by phosphorylation of myosin light chain. There are also modulatory pathways that control the final level of force development. We tested the hypothesis that protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase modulate vascular smooth muscle activity via effects on MAP kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1). Swine carotid arteries we...

We study the interaction of berberine and sanguinarine (plant alkaloids) with DNA in aqueous solutions, by using optical spectroscopy methods (absorption and fluorescence). The dependencies of alkaloid spectral characteristics on the concentration ratio N/c between the DNA base pairs and alkaloid molecules in the solutions are considered, and the manifestations of the alkaloid– DNA binding are ...

Although epidemic dropsy was recognised in 1877 when it appeared as an epidemic outbreak in Calcutta, it came to the attention of ophthalmologists only in 1909, when Maynard' reported the occurrence of glaucoma in cases of the disease. Epidemic dropsy is an acute toxic disease characterised initially by gastrointestinal disturbances, lowgrade fever followed by oedema of the extremities, especia...

Cancer is one of the most occurring diseases in developed and developing countries. Plant-based compounds are still researched for their anticancer activity and for their quantity in plants. Therefore, the modern chromatographic methods are applied to quantify them in plants, for example, UPLC-MS/MS (ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry). Therefore, the aim of the pre...

Alkaloids, the largest group among the nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites of plants, usually interact with several molecular targets. In this study, we provide evidence that six cytotoxic alkaloids (sanguinarine, chelerythrine, chelidonine, noscapine, protopine, homoharringtonine), which are known to affect neuroreceptors, protein biosynthesis and nucleic acids, also interact with the ce...

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces a diverse array of bioactive benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, including the narcotic analgesic morphine and the antimicrobial agent sanguinarine. In contrast to the plant, cell cultures of opium poppy do not accumulate alkaloids constitutively but produce sanguinarine in response to treatment with certain fungal-derived elicitors. The induction of sanguina...

An eight-week trial was conducted to investigate the effects of sanguinarine supplementation (600 μg and 1200 μg/kg) in high-fat (crude fat: 10%) diets (HF) on intestinal physiological function Ctenopharyngodon idellus (initial weight 50.21 ± 0.68 g), based a basic diet (5% crude fat, CON), which were named HFLS HFHS, respectively. The results showed that HF significantly impaired immune physic...