Background: Since alkaloids are nitrogenous compounds, the availability of nitrogen (N) is expected to play an important role in the biosynthesis and accumulation of alkaloids in plants. Nitrogen has been found to increase the content of alkaloids in some of the medicinal plants. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of nitrogen bio-fertilizers, conventional nitrogen fe...

Thirty-four alkaloids were identified in the organs of Hyoscyamus albus L. by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GLC-MS). Eight new compounds for the roots, eleven for the stems, twelve for the leaves, nineteen for the flowers, and seven for the seeds were detected. The alkaloids 5-(2-oxopropyl)-hygrine (8) and phygrine (20) are new for this species and 3-(hydroxyacetoxy)tropane (9), ...

The destruction of atropine (nn-hyoscyamine) was first reported by Fleischmann over 50 years ago (1). Subsequently, it was demonstrated that this destruction is mediated by a hydrolytic enzyme (2) which is detectable in the sera and organs of but a fraction of rabbits (3). Genetic analysis indicates that atropinesterase (EC 3.1 .l. 10) activity is inherited as an incompletely dominant Mendelian...

Scopolamine is an alkaloid widely used in medicine for its anticholinergic activity. The aim of this review is to show that metabolic engineering techniques constitute a suitable tool to improve the production of tropane alkaloids, focusing in particular on scopolamine. We present an overview of results obtained by various research groups, including our own, who have studied the overexpression ...