Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics Research Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, 92182, USA.
Department of Chemistry, University of Swabi, Anbar, 23561, K.P.K, Pakistan.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2018 Jan;97:240-247. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.10.111. Epub 2017 Nov 6.
Galls, the abnormal growths in plants, induced by virus, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arthropods, or even other plants, are akin to cancers in fauna. The galls which occur in a myriad of forms are phytochemically-distinct from the normal plant tissues, for these are the sites of tug-of-war, just like the granuloma in animals. To counter the stressors, in the form of the effector proteins of the invaders, the host plants elaborate a large repertoire of metabolites, which they normally will not produce. Perturbation of the jasmonic acid pathway, and the overexpression of auxin, and cytokinin, promote the tissue proliferation and the resultant galls. Though the plant family characteristics and the attackers determine the gall biochemistry, most of the galls are rich in bioactive phytochemicals such as phenolic acids, anthocyanins, purpurogallin, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, triterpenes, alkaloids, lipophilic components (tanshinone) etc. Throughout the long trajectory of evolution, humans have learned to use the galls as therapeutics, much like other plant parts. In diverse cultures, the evidence of folkloric usage of galls abound. Among others, galls from the plant genus like Rhus, Pistacia, Quercus, Terminalia etc. are popular as ethnomedicine. This review mines the literature on galling agents, and the medicinal relevance of galls.
虫瘿，即由病毒、细菌、真菌、线虫、节肢动物，甚至其他植物引起的植物异常生长，类似于动物界的肿瘤。虫瘿有多种形态，与正常植物组织在化学上有明显区别，因为这些是拉锯战的发生地，就像动物中的肉芽肿一样。为了对抗以入侵效应蛋白形式出现的压力源，宿主植物会精心制造大量代谢物，而这些代谢物通常不会产生。茉莉酸途径的紊乱，以及生长素和细胞分裂素的过度表达，促进了组织的增殖，从而导致了虫瘿的产生。虽然植物科的特征和攻击者决定了虫瘿的生物化学特性，但大多数虫瘿都富含生物活性的植物化学物质，如酚酸、花青素、没食子酸、类黄酮、单宁、甾体、三萜、生物碱、脂溶性成分（丹参酮）等。在漫长的进化过程中，人类已经学会将虫瘿用作治疗药物，就像其他植物部位一样。在不同的文化中，都有使用虫瘿作为民间药物的证据。例如，植物属如漆树属、黄连木属、栎属、诃子属等的虫瘿是常见的民族医学药物。本文综述了虫瘿诱导剂和虫瘿药用相关性的文献。
