Formation of beta-peltatin-A methyl ether and coniferin by root cultures of Linum flavum.

Extracts of root cultures of Linum flavum contained high cytotoxic activity due to the presence of 1% beta-peltatin-A methyl ether of the dry mass. During chromatographic analysis of the cell extracts, coniferin was identified as the major uv-absorbing but noncytotoxic constituent with levels of up to 3% of the dry mass. Growth, culture appearance, and product accumulation varied greatly with the 2,4-D concentration in the medium.

9,10-Dihydrophenanthrenes as phytoalexins of Orchidaceae. Biosynthetic studies in vitro and in vivo proving the route from L-phenylalanine to dihydro-m-coumaric acid, dihydrostilbene and dihydrophenanthrenes.

Hydroxy derivatives of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes, orchinol and hircinol, were isolated from bulbs of Orchidaceae which had been induced to accumulate phytoalexins. Incorporation of radioactive precursors, L-phenylalanine and various hydroxycinnamic acids, has been investigated by feeding experiments in vivo. m-Coumaric acid and dihydro-m-coumaric acid were found to be efficiently incorporated into the dihydrophenanthrene derivatives. Dihydro-m-coumaric acid was not only converted into the dihydrophenanthrenes but was also formed from L-phenylalanine in the same tissue; it was thus proved to be an intermediate. The role of dihydro-m-coumaric acid was substantiated by studies in vitro. An active stilbene synthase was detected in enzyme preparations from induced orchid bulbs and assayed with different CoA esters. The enzyme, characterized on the basis of its substrate specificity, selectively converted dihydro-m-coumaroyl-CoA plus malonyl-CoA into 3,3',5-trihydroxybibenzyl. The role of 3,3',5-trihydroxybibenzyl as physiological intermediate was further corroborated by investigations with intact plants. Both its formation from phenylpropanoids and its conversion into orchinol was demonstrated. The data provided evidence for a biosynthetic sequence originating from L-phenylalanine and leading to 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes via m-coumaric acid, dihydro-m-coumaric acid, and 3,3',5-trihydroxybibenzyl.

A model of closely assembled consecutive enzymes on membranes: formation of hydroxycinnamic acids from L-phenylalanine on thylakoids of Dunaliella marina.

p-Hydroxycinnamic acid was found to be located within the plastids of the green alga Dunaliella marina. Thylakoid fractions desintegrated by ultrasonic treatment were capable of converting L-phenylalanine into o- and p-hydroxycinnamic acids; the hydroxylation reaction was increased by addition of NADPH. Hydroxycinnamic acids produced when [3-14C]cinnamate was incubated with varying amounts of [4'-3H]L-phenylalanine exhibited a 3H/14C ratio 10-150 times higher than that of the cinnamic acid reisolated from the incubation mixture. The lack of equilibration between cinnamate formed from L-phenylalanine and cinnamate added to the solution supports the hypothesis that cinnamate as an intermediate in hydroxycinnamate formation remains bound to the membrane enzyme complex. A model of membrane-bound multienzyme complexes is proposed for the conversion of aromatic amino acids into phenols.

Conversion of p-coumarate into caffeate by Streptomyces nigrifaciens. Purification and properties of the hydroxylating enzyme.

1. An enzyme responsible for the conversion of p-coumarate into caffeate was purified 97-fold from Streptomyces nigrifaciens. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 18000 as determined by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and was homogeneous on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 2. The preparation exhibited both p-coumarate hydroxylase and caffeate oxidase activities. 3. Stoicheiometry of the reaction indicated a mono-oxygenase-mediated catalysis consuming 1mol of O(2)/mol of substrate hydroxylated. 4. NADH, NADPH, tetrahydropteroylglutamate or ascorbate act as electron donors for the reaction, ascorbate being inhibitory at higher concentrations. 5. The optimum enzyme activity was at about pH7.7 and 40 degrees C, with an activation energy of 39kJ/mol. 6. Monophenols such as p-hydroxyphenylpropionate, p-hydroxyphenylacetate, l-tyrosine and dl-p-hydroxyphenyl-lactate were also hydroxylated by the preparation, in addition to p-coumarate. 7. The enzyme was a copper protein having 0.38% copper in a bound form. 8. Thiol-group inhibitors did not affect the reaction. 9. The relationship of the enzyme to other hydroxylases is discussed.

Biogenesis of rosmarinic acid in Mentha.

The biogenesis of rosmarinic acid (alpha-O-caffeoyl-3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-lactic acid), the second most common ester of caffeic acid in the plant kingdom, was studied in Mentha arvense and Mentha piperita. Administration of (14)C-labelled compounds showed that, whereas the caffeoyl moiety was formed from phenylalanine via cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid, the 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-lactic acid moiety was formed from tyrosine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. Time-course studies and the use of labelled rosmarinic acid showed that endogenous rosmarinic acid had a low turnover rate. The caffeoyl moiety did not appear to contribute to the formation of insoluble polymers, as has been suggested for chlorogenic acid in other plants.

Production of hydrocinnamic acid by clostridia.

Hydrocinnamic acid was found in acid extracts of spent growth medium from cultures of Clostridium sporogenes. The acid was identified by mass spectrometry and its identity was confirmed by gas chromatography. The acid was produced in relatively large amounts (2 to 3 mumoles/ml of medium) by C. sporogenes, toxigenic types A, B, D, and F of C. botulinum, and some strains of C. bifermentans. Other strains of C. bifermentans and strains of C. sordellii and C. caproicum produced only small amounts (0.1 to 0.4 mumoles/ml) of the acid. The acid was not detected in spent medium from toxigenic types C and E of C. botulinum or from 25 other strains representing eight Clostridium species. Resting cell suspensions exposed to l-phenylalanine produced hydrocinnamic and cinnamic acid; the latter compound probably functions as an intermediate in the metabolism of l-phenylalanine.

Phenol biosynthesis in higher plants. Gallic acid.

The biosynthesis of gallic acid in a number of higher plants was investigated by using l-[U-(14)C]phenylalanine, (-)-[G-(14)C]shikimic acid, d-[1-(14)C]glucose and d-[6-(14)C]glucose as tracers. The results are compared with those obtained similarly for caffeic acid and are interpreted in terms of the dehydrogenation of 5-dehydroshikimic acid as a normal route of metabolism for gallic acid.