Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Heliyon. 2023 Sep 9;9(9):e20034. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20034.
eCollection  2023 Sep.

Phytochemical and metabolic profiling of the different Podocarpus species in 
Egypt: Potential antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities.

Mohamed NZ(1), Shaaban L(1), Safan S(1), El-Sayed ASA(1).

Author information:
(1)Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, 
Zagazig 44519, Egypt.

Podocarpus is the most dominant genus of Podocarpaceae, with higher taxonomical 
proximity to the Taxaceae, having numerous pharmaceutical applications, however, 
scarce studies dealing with the physiological and metabolic criteria of 
Podocarpus in Egypt were reported. Thus, the objective of this work was to 
assess the physiological and metabolical patterns of the different species of 
Podocarpus; P. gracilior, P. elongates, P. macrophyllus and P. neriifolius. The 
highest terpenoids contents were reported in P. neriifolius, followed by P. 
elongatus, and P. macrophyllus. P. gracilior had the highest antioxidants 
amount, followed by P. macrophyllus, P. neriifolius and P. elongatus. From the 
GC/MS metabolic profiling, caryophyllene, β-cadinene, β-cuvebene, vitispirane, 
β-cadinene and amorphene were the most dominant metabolites in P. gracilior. 
β-Caryophyllene was the common in P. gracilior, P. elongatus, P. macrophyllus 
and P. neriifolius with an obvious fluctuation. The plant methanolic extracts 
have an obvious activity against the multidrug resistant bacteria; E. coli, P. 
aeruginosa, S. pyogenes and S. aureus, and fungi; A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. 
niger and C. albicans in a concentration-dependent manner. The highest Taxol 
yield was assessed in the extracts of P. elongatus (16.4 μg/gdw), followed by P. 
macrophyllus, and P. neriifolius. The chemical identity of Taxol derived from P. 
elongatus was resolved by LC/MS, with molecular mass 854.6 m/z, and similar 
structural fragmentation pattern of the authentic one. The highest antitumor 
activity of P. elongatus extracted Taxol was assessed towards HCT-116 
(30.2 μg/ml), HepG-2 (53.7 μg/ml) and MCF-7 (71.8 μg/ml). The ITS sequence of P. 
elongatus "as potent Taxol producer" was deposited on Genbank with accession 
#ON540734.1, that is the first record of Podocarpus species on Genbank.

© 2023 The Authors.

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20034
PMCID: PMC10559778
PMID: 37810029

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing 
of interests.


2. Molecules. 2022 Oct 27;27(21):7294. doi: 10.3390/molecules27217294.

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (R,R)-Blumenol B and d(9)-(R,R)-Blumenol B.

Tan SM(1), Rees SWP(1), Jelley RE(1), Wang J(1), Fedrizzi B(1)(2), Barker 
D(1)(2)(3).

Author information:
(1)School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St., Auckland 
1010, New Zealand.
(2)Centre for Green Chemical Science, School of Chemical Sciences, University of 
Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
(3)MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria 
University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand.

C13-norisoprenoids are of particular importance to grapes and wines, as these 
molecules influence wine aroma and have been shown to significantly contribute 
to the distinct character of various wine varieties. Blumenol B is a putative 
precursor to a number of important wine aroma compounds, including the 
well-known compounds theaspirone and vitispirane. The enantioselective synthesis 
of (R,R)-blumenol B from commercially available 4-oxoisophorone was achieved 
using a short and easily scaleable route, which was then successfully applied to 
the synthesis of poly-deuterated d9-blumenol B.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules27217294
PMCID: PMC9655556
PMID: 36364120 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.


3. Plants (Basel). 2022 Aug 16;11(16):2132. doi: 10.3390/plants11162132.

Authentication and Market Survey of Sweet Birch (Betula lenta L.) Essential Oil.

Dosoky NS(1), Poudel A(1), Satyal P(1).

Author information:
(1)Essential Oil Science, dōTERRA International, 1248 W 700 S, Pleasant Grove, 
UT 84062, USA.

Sweet Birch (Betula lenta) has several economic and medicinal uses. Very little 
is known about the chemical composition of B. lenta. In this study, the volatile 
compositions of the bark of B. lenta from authentic and commercial sources were 
assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas 
chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Overall, more than 60 
compounds were identified in natural sweet birch EO obtained by 
hydro-distillation. The oil was dominated by methyl salicylate (93.24-99.84%). A 
good approach to distinguishing wintergreen and birch oils would be 
biomarker-based analysis. The biomarkers are selected based upon three main 
criteria: (1) the marker should be commercially unavailable or too expensive 
which renders the adulteration process very costly, (2) The marker should be 
detected consistently in all the tested authentic EO samples, and (3) A birch EO 
marker should be found exclusively in birch EO, not in wintergreen and vice 
versa. The minor components o-guaiacol, veratrole, 2-E-4-Z-decadienal, and 
2-E-4-E-decadienal were identified as natural marker compounds for authentic 
sweet birch oil. Surprisingly, none of the tested 27 commercial samples 
contained any of the identified birch markers. The detection of wintergreen 
markers such as vitispirane and β-dehydroelsholtzia ketone, the synthetic marker 
dimethyl-2-hydroxyterephthalate, and ricenalidic acid lactone suggest the 
addition of wintergreen, synthetic methyl salicylate, and castor oil, 
respectively. This is the first report to identify birch biomarkers to the best 
of our knowledge.

DOI: 10.3390/plants11162132
PMCID: PMC9412571
PMID: 36015435

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.


4. Molecules. 2021 Jan 5;26(1):232. doi: 10.3390/molecules26010232.

Evaluation of the Storage Conditions and Type of Cork Stopper on the Quality of 
Bottled White Wines.

Díaz-Maroto MC(1), López Viñas M(1), Marchante L(2), Alañón ME(3), Díaz-Maroto 
IJ(4), Pérez-Coello MS(1).

Author information:
(1)Area of Food Technology, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, 
Regional Institute for Applied Scientific Research (IRICA), University of 
Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela 10, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
(2)Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal 
de Castilla La Mancha (IRIAF), IVICAM, 13700 Ciudad Real, Spain.
(3)Area of Food Technology, Higher Technical School of Agronomic Engineering, 
University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ronda de Calatrava 7, 13071 Ciudad Real, 
Spain.
(4)Departamento de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Escuela Politécnica Superior, 
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, 
Spain.

The effects of different storage conditions, light exposure, temperature and 
different commercially available cork stoppers on the phenolic, volatile and 
sensorial profile of Verdejo wines were studied. Two natural corks of different 
visual quality and a microgranulated cork stopper were investigated over one 
year at two different storage conditions. One simulating light exposure and 
temperature in retail outlets and the other simulating optimal cellar conditions 
(darkness and 12 °C). The wines stored under commercial conditions showed 
greater losses of total and free SO2 and higher levels of brown-yellowish tones, 
related to the oxidation of flavan-3-ols. Although these wines underwent a 
decrease in the total content of stilbenes, a significant increase in 
trans-piceid was observed. In addition, these wines suffered important changes 
in their volatile and sensory profile. Volatile compounds with fruity and floral 
aromas decreased significantly, while volatile compounds related to aged-type 
characters, as linalool oxides, vitispirane, TDN or furan derivatives increased. 
Wines stored in darkness at 12 °C underwent minor changes and their sensory 
profiles were similar to wine before bottling. The high-quality natural corks 
and microgranulated corks better preserved the quality of the white wines from a 
sensory point of view. These results showed that temperature and light exposure 
conditions (diffuse white LEDs and 24 ± 2 °C) in retail outlets considerably 
decrease the quality of bottled white wines and, consequently, their shelf life, 
due to the premature development of aged-type characters.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules26010232
PMCID: PMC7794777
PMID: 33466330 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The 
funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or 
interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to 
publish the results.


5. Food Chem. 2021 Jan 1;334:127574. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127574. Epub
2020  Jul 18.

Using an electronic nose and volatilome analysis to differentiate sparkling 
wines obtained under different conditions of temperature, ageing time and yeast 
formats.

Martínez-García R(1), Moreno J(2), Bellincontro A(3), Centioni L(3), Puig-Pujol 
A(4), Peinado RA(5), Mauricio JC(6), García-Martínez T(6).

Author information:
(1)Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Marie Curie (C3) Building, Agrifood 
Campus of International Excellence CeiA3, University of Córdoba, Ctra. N-IV-A, 
km 396, 14014 Cordoba, Spain.
(2)Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Marie Curie (C3) Building, Agrifood 
Campus of International Excellence CeiA3, University of Córdoba, Ctra. N-IV-A, 
km 396, 14014 Cordoba, Spain. Electronic address: qe1movij@uco.es.
(3)DIBAF, Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems 
- Postharvest Laboratory, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de Lellis snc, 
01100 Viterbo, Italy.
(4)Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries - Institut Català de la 
Vinya i el Vi), Plaça Àgora, 2, 08720 Vilafranca del Penedès (Barcelona), Spain.
(5)Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Marie Curie (C3) Building, Agrifood 
Campus of International Excellence CeiA3, University of Córdoba, Ctra. N-IV-A, 
km 396, 14014 Cordoba, Spain. Electronic address: qe1peamr@uco.es.
(6)Department of Microbiology, Severo Ochoa (C6) Building, Agrifood Campus of 
International Excellence CeiA3, University of Cordoba, Ctra. N-IV-A, kmm 396, 
14014 Cordoba, Spain.

Effect of yeast inoculation format (F), temperature (T), and "on lees" ageing 
time (t) factors were evaluated on the composition of sparkling wines by a 
quantitative fingerprint obtained from volatile metabolites and the response of 
an electronic nose (E-nose). Wines elaborated according the traditional method 
at 10 and 14 °C, free cells and yeast biocapsules formats were monitored at 15 
and 24 months of ageing time. Sixty-six volatiles identified and quantified in 
the eight sampling lots were subjected to a pattern recognition technique. A 
dual criterion based on univariate (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis (PLS-DA) 
through the variable importance projection (VIP) values, allowed to identify ten 
volatiles as potential markers for T factor, eleven for t and twelve for F 
factors. The discriminant models based on E-nose dataset enable a 100% correct 
classification of samples, in relation with t and F factors and the 83% for T 
factor.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127574
PMID: 32721835 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors 
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal 
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this 
paper.