Hotchandani Tarun, Desgagne-Penix Isabel
Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, 3351 boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivieres, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada.
Curr Top Med Chem. 2017;17(4):418-427. doi: 10.2174/1568026616666160824104052.
Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AAs), which are natural heterocyclic compounds, are isolated from Amaryllidaceae plants such as narcissus, snowdrop and spider lily. AAs have been extensively studied due to their multiple pharmacological properties. Nevertheless, knowledge of AA synthesis in plants is lacking and most genes encoding enzymes involved in their production remain unknown. AAs are structurally complex compounds which are challenging for total chemical synthesis that is economically viable. Therefore the understanding of AA biosynthesis could allow for the development of biotechnologies for the production of natural AAs or analogues, maintaining or improving their pharmacological properties. In this review, we describe the progress regarding the biosynthesis and pharmacological properties of AAs. The most recent developments in neurological, anti-cancer and anti-microbial bioactivities of heterocyclic AAs are covered.
石蒜科生物碱（AAs）是天然杂环化合物，从水仙、雪花莲和蜘蛛百合等石蒜科植物中分离得到。由于其多种药理特性，AAs已得到广泛研究。然而，植物中AA合成的相关知识尚缺，且大多数参与其合成的酶的编码基因仍不为人知。AAs是结构复杂的化合物，其全化学合成具有经济可行性，颇具挑战性。因此，了解AA生物合成有助于开发生物技术以生产天然AAs或类似物，并保持或改善其药理特性。在本综述中，我们描述了AAs生物合成及药理特性方面的进展。涵盖了杂环AAs在神经学、抗癌和抗菌生物活性方面的最新进展。
