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Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. Significance of endangered and threatened plant natural products in the control of human disease
[Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, full page: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Significance of endangered and threatened plant natural products in the control of human disease
Mohamed Ali Ibrahim<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>c</SUP>, MinKyun Na<SUP>d</SUP>, Joonseok Oh<SUP>a</SUP>, Raymond F. Schinazi<SUP>e</SUP>,<SUP>f</SUP>, Tami R. McBrayer<SUP>g</SUP>, Tony Whitaker<SUP>g</SUP>, Robert J. Doerksen<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>h</SUP>, David J. Newman<SUP>i</SUP>, Louis G. Zachos<SUP>j</SUP>, and Mark T. Hamann<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>k</SUP>,<SUP>1</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Author Affiliations: Departments of <SUP>a</SUP>Pharmacognosy, <SUP>h</SUP>Medicinal Chemistry, <SUP>j</SUP>Geology and Geological Engineering, <SUP>b</SUP>National Center for Natural Products Research, and <SUP>k</SUP>Departments of Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677; <SUP>c</SUP>Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, National Research Center, Dokki 12622, Cairo, Egypt; <SUP>d</SUP>College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea; <SUP>e</SUP>Center for AIDS Research, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322; <SUP>f</SUP>Veterans Affairs, Decatur, GA 30033; <SUP>g</SUP>RFS Pharma, LLC, Tucker, GA 30084; and <SUP>i</SUP>Natural Products Branch, US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 21702
Edited by Jerrold Meinwald, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and approved August 28, 2013 (received for review June 17, 2013)
Significance
In this report we describe a group of highly complex glycosides active against hepatitis C virus and a separate group of natural products active against established targets for the control of diabetes mellitus. These complex metabolites were found in the rare plant Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron. from the mountains of Ecuador. This report illustrates the human health significance of protecting rare and endangered plants for the control of new and emerging diseases. The extinction of this particular plant would have taken with it promising opportunities to develop unique treatments for the control of two modern-day disease challenges. The genus Diplostephium is represented by several plant species with a history of use in traditional medicine in Central and South America.
Abstract
One in five of the world?s plant species is threatened with extinction according to the 2010 first global analysis of extinction risk. Tilman et al. predicted a massive ecological change to terrestrial plants within the next 50?100 y, accompanied by an increase in the number of global plant species facing extinction [Tilman D, et al. (2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98(10):5433?5440]. Most of the drug-producing plant families contain endangered species never previously studied for their utility to human health, which strongly validates the need to prioritize protection and assessment of these fragile and endangered groups [Zhu F, et al. (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(31):12943?12948]. With little prior attention given to endangered and rare plant species, this report provides strong justification for conservation of the rare plant Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron., as well as other potential drug-producing endangered species in this and other groups.
endangered plants - hepatitis C virus - diabetes mellitus
Footnotes
<SUP>1</SUP>To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mthamann@olemiss.edu.
Author contributions: M.A.I., J.O., R.F.S., R.J.D., D.J.N., and M.T.H. designed research; M.A.I., M.N., J.O., T.R.M., and T.W. performed research; M.A.I., J.O., R.J.D., L.G.Z., and M.T.H. analyzed data and designed the provided map; and M.A.I., M.N., J.O., and M.T.H. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Data deposition: A Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron. (Asteraceae) voucher sample was deposited in the National Herbarium at the Smithsonian Institution (code 0CJS1259).
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1311528110/-/DCSupplemental.
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Significance of endangered and threatened plant natural products in the control of human disease
Mohamed Ali Ibrahim<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>c</SUP>, MinKyun Na<SUP>d</SUP>, Joonseok Oh<SUP>a</SUP>, Raymond F. Schinazi<SUP>e</SUP>,<SUP>f</SUP>, Tami R. McBrayer<SUP>g</SUP>, Tony Whitaker<SUP>g</SUP>, Robert J. Doerksen<SUP>b</SUP>,<SUP>h</SUP>, David J. Newman<SUP>i</SUP>, Louis G. Zachos<SUP>j</SUP>, and Mark T. Hamann<SUP>a</SUP>,<SUP>k</SUP>,<SUP>1</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Author Affiliations: Departments of <SUP>a</SUP>Pharmacognosy, <SUP>h</SUP>Medicinal Chemistry, <SUP>j</SUP>Geology and Geological Engineering, <SUP>b</SUP>National Center for Natural Products Research, and <SUP>k</SUP>Departments of Pharmacology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677; <SUP>c</SUP>Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, National Research Center, Dokki 12622, Cairo, Egypt; <SUP>d</SUP>College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea; <SUP>e</SUP>Center for AIDS Research, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322; <SUP>f</SUP>Veterans Affairs, Decatur, GA 30033; <SUP>g</SUP>RFS Pharma, LLC, Tucker, GA 30084; and <SUP>i</SUP>Natural Products Branch, US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 21702
Edited by Jerrold Meinwald, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and approved August 28, 2013 (received for review June 17, 2013)
Significance
In this report we describe a group of highly complex glycosides active against hepatitis C virus and a separate group of natural products active against established targets for the control of diabetes mellitus. These complex metabolites were found in the rare plant Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron. from the mountains of Ecuador. This report illustrates the human health significance of protecting rare and endangered plants for the control of new and emerging diseases. The extinction of this particular plant would have taken with it promising opportunities to develop unique treatments for the control of two modern-day disease challenges. The genus Diplostephium is represented by several plant species with a history of use in traditional medicine in Central and South America.
Abstract
One in five of the world?s plant species is threatened with extinction according to the 2010 first global analysis of extinction risk. Tilman et al. predicted a massive ecological change to terrestrial plants within the next 50?100 y, accompanied by an increase in the number of global plant species facing extinction [Tilman D, et al. (2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98(10):5433?5440]. Most of the drug-producing plant families contain endangered species never previously studied for their utility to human health, which strongly validates the need to prioritize protection and assessment of these fragile and endangered groups [Zhu F, et al. (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(31):12943?12948]. With little prior attention given to endangered and rare plant species, this report provides strong justification for conservation of the rare plant Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron., as well as other potential drug-producing endangered species in this and other groups.
endangered plants - hepatitis C virus - diabetes mellitus
Footnotes
<SUP>1</SUP>To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mthamann@olemiss.edu.
Author contributions: M.A.I., J.O., R.F.S., R.J.D., D.J.N., and M.T.H. designed research; M.A.I., M.N., J.O., T.R.M., and T.W. performed research; M.A.I., J.O., R.J.D., L.G.Z., and M.T.H. analyzed data and designed the provided map; and M.A.I., M.N., J.O., and M.T.H. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Data deposition: A Diplostephium rhododendroides Hieron. (Asteraceae) voucher sample was deposited in the National Herbarium at the Smithsonian Institution (code 0CJS1259).
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1311528110/-/DCSupplemental.
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