ABSTRACT
As a part of our studies on the metabolism of crude drug components by intestinal bacteria, gentiopicroside (a secoiridoid glucoside isolated from Gentiana lutea), was anaerobically incubated with various defined strains of human intestinal bacteria. Many species had ability to transform it to a series of metabolites. Among them, Veillonella parvula ss parvula produced five metabolites, which were identified as erythrocentaurin, gentiopicral, 5-hydroxymethylisochroman-1-one,5-hydroxymethylisochromen-1- one and trans-5,6-dihydro-5-hydroxymethyl-6-methyl-1H,3H-pyrano[3,4-c]pyra n-1-one.
Subject(s)
Bacteria/metabolism , Glucosides/metabolism , Glycosides/metabolism , Intestines/microbiology , Iridoids , Pyrans/metabolism , Humans , Iridoid GlucosidesABSTRACT
The biotransformation of swertiamarin [1, a seco-iridoid glucoside isolated from Swertia japonica (Schult.) Makino] by human intestinal bacteria was investigated. Three metabolites were isolated and identified as erythrocentaurin (2), 5-hydroxymethylisochroman-1-one (3), and gentianine (4) by spectroscopic methods. Through screening of various defined strains of intestinal bacteria (25 species), it was found that all these species had the ability to metabolize 1 to 2 and 3, whereas only a few species had the ability to produce 4. This is the first report to show that one of the metabolic intermediates of the secoiridoid compound is further transformed to a nitrogen-containing compound through metabolic processes by human intestinal bacteria.
Subject(s)
Feces/microbiology , Glucosides/metabolism , Glycosides/metabolism , Iridoids , Plants, Medicinal/analysis , Pyrans/metabolism , Pyrones/metabolism , Humans , Iridoid Glucosides , Molecular StructureABSTRACT
As a part of our studies on the metabolism of bioactive compounds from oriental medicines by intestinal flora, homoorientin, a C-glycosylflavonoid, was anaerobically incubated with a human intestinal bacterial mixture. Homoorientin was transformed to 6-C-glucosyleriodictyol, (+/-)-eriodictyol, luteolin, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid, and phloroglucinol. A novel cleavage of the C-glycosyl bond was discovered for the first time by using intestinal bacteria.
