High-performance liquid chromatography and micellar electrokinetic chromatography of taxol and related taxanes from bark and needle extracts of Taxus species.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) were applied for the separation of taxol, cephalomannine, and baccatin III in crude extracts from the needle and bark of Taxus species. The chromatogram of the bark extract was cleaner than that of the needle allowing a more reliable detection of taxol and cephalomannine in the bark extract. However, HPLC quantitation of taxol in the needle extract would be difficult due to coeluting taxinines. Nevertheless, this was not a problem in the MEKC experiment. In comparison to HPLC, MEKC offered baseline resolution of taxol from taxinines in the needle extract, less solvent waste, a smaller sample requirement, and the simultaneous detection of taxol, cephalomannine and baccatin III in a relatively simpler electrophoretic run.

Esperamicin P, the tetrasulfide analog of esperamicin A1.

A minor congener of esperamicin A1 [1], designated esperamicin P (BMY-41339, 2), was isolated from a fermentation broth of Actinomadura verrucosospora and determined to differ from esperamicin A1 by having a methyl tetrasulfide moiety instead of a methyl trisulfide. It was active against xenografted tumors in mice and exhibited antimicrobial activity. Interconversions of 2 and 1 have been observed for DMSO solutions of both congeners at room temperature.

Effects of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors on taxol content in Taxus brevifolia and related species.

The demand for taxol, a promising cancer chemotherapeutic agent, far exceeds supply. Presently, taxol is derived from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, a small, slow-growing evergreen tree native to the northwestern United States. Knowledge of the distribution and magnitude of genetic and non-genetic sources of variation in taxol content in the genus Taxus is necessary if supply issues are to be met through plant harvesting. Analytical determinations of taxol, cephalomannine, and baccatin III in more than 200 trees representing several populations of T. brevifolia and other yew taxa indicate that (1) significant variation in taxane content exists among and within populations and species, (2) taxol levels exceeding those reported for T. brevifolia bark were found in shoots of individual trees from most taxa studied, and (3) the season in which samples are collected and handling procedures can influence taxane content.

The large-scale isolation of bryostatin 1 from Bugula neritina following current good manufacturing practices.

A novel process was designed for the large-scale isolation of bryostatin 1 from the bryozoan Bugula neritina L. in order to obtain multigram quantities of highly pure material for formulation studies, preclinical toxicology, and clinical trials in cancer patients. Multigram quantities of bryostatin 1 were obtained from a collection of approximately 10,000 gallons of wet animal. A phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu) receptor binding assay and hplc with photodiode array detection were used for the design, validation, and control of the isolation process.

Dereplication of phorbol bioactives: Lyngbya majuscula and Croton cuneatus.

Lyngbya majuscula and Croton cuneatus were used as prototypes for the dereplication of phorbol ester receptor binding activity using a combination of hplc-uv and online phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu) receptor binding and batch fractionation over either Si gel or diolbonded Si gel. Debromoaplysiatoxin was responsible for the bioactivity of Lyngbya, whereas a complex of potent phorbol esters was detected in C. cuneatus.

[Prevalence of anemia in a sample of school children in Durango City]. / Prevalencia de anemia en una muestra de escolares de la ciudad de Durango.

The circulatory levels of hemoglobin and the frequency of anemia were determined in a representative sample of children with a mean age of 6.7 years. A random sample of 500 children of the city of Durango was studied. Durango has an altitude of 1893 m above sea level. The mean value of hemoglobin was 12.57 g/100 ml, with a range of 9.4 to 15.0 and a SE of 0.05. There was no difference statistically significant between the sexes. Considering 12.0 as the lower normal limit for hemoglobin values, it was found that 16% of the children were anemic, 49% of the anemic children were iron deficient, with iron serum levels of less than 60 ug/100 ml. The relationship between anemia and number of living children, birth order and weight was established. The frequency of anemia was higher among children coming from families with 4 or more living children.