8 research outputs found
Dehydropyrrolizidine Alkaloids, Including Monoesters with an Unusual Esterifying Acid, from Cultivated Crotalaria juncea (Sunn Hemp cv.âTropic Sunâ)
Cultivation of Crotalaria juncea L. (Sunn Hemp cv. âTropic Sunâ) is recommended as
a green manure crop in a rotation cycle to improve soil condition,
help control erosion, suppress weeds, and reduce soil nematodes. Because <i>C. juncea</i> belongs to a genus that is known for the production
of toxic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids, extracts of the roots, stems,
leaves, and seeds of âTropic Sunâ were analyzed for
their presence using HPLC-ESI/MS. Qualitative analysis identified
previously unknown alkaloids as major components along with the expected
macrocyclic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid diesters, junceine and trichodesmine.
The dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids occurred mainly as the <i>N</i>-oxides in the roots, stems, and, to a lesser extent, leaves,
but mainly as the free bases in the seeds. Comprehensive spectrometric
and spectroscopic analysis enabled elucidation of the unknown alkaloids
as diastereoisomers of isohemijunceine, a monoester of retronecine
with an unusual necic acid. The dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid contents
of the roots, stems, and leaves of immature plants were estimated
to be 0.05, 0.12, and 0.01% w/w, respectively, whereas seeds were
estimated to contain 0.15% w/w