13,14-dihydrocoptisine--the genuine alkaloid from Chelidonium majus.

The genuine major benzylisoquinoline alkaloid occurring in the traditional medicinal plant greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) is 13,14-dihydrocoptisine and not - as described previously - coptisine. Structure of 13,14-dihydrocoptisine was elucidated. The discrepancy between the alkaloid pattern of the living plants and that of detached and dried leaves is due to the rapid and prompt conversion of 13,14-dihydrocoptisine to coptisine in the course of tissue injuries. Indeed, apart from the major alkaloid, some minor alkaloids might also be converted; this however is not in the centre of focus of this paper. This conversion is initiated by the change of pH. In vivo 13,14-dihydrocoptisine is localized in the acidic vacuoles, where it is stable. In contrast, in the neutral milieu, which results when vacuoles are destroyed in the course of tissue injuries, the genuine alkaloid is oxidized to yield coptisine. Accordingly, when alkaloids from C.majus should be analyzed, any postmortal conversion of 13,14-dihydrocoptisine has to be prevented.

Effects of oregano on performance and immunmodulating factors in weaned piglets.

Many health effects can be attributed to the Mediterranean herb oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and several studies demonstrated the improving effect on performance, changes in blood count, antibacterial, antifungal and immunmodulating abilities. The majority of these investigations were carried out with processed essential oil, while whole plant material was only used in a few studies. Thus, the aim of the present experiment was to test the effect of increasing proportions of dried oregano in piglet feed on health and performance, with a special focus on immune modulation. A total of 80 male castrated weaned piglets (body weight [BW] 7.9 kg ± 1.0 kg) were used in a feeding experiment lasting 5 weeks. They were assigned to 4 experimental groups: a control diet, and three diets with an oregano supplementation at 2 g, 4 g and 8 g per kg feed, respectively, corresponding to 23.5 mg, 46.9 mg and 93.9 mg carvacrol/kg DM. After 3 weeks, half of each group was challenged with 5 µg lipopolysaccharides (LPS) per kg BW. Blood samples were collected 2 h after LPS stimulation and analysed for T-cell phenotypes, granulocyte activity, clinical-chemistry as well as white and red blood count. The results indicate no effects of oregano on performance. In contrast, oregano altered the lymphocyte proportion and the ratio of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells as well as the triglyceride concentration in the serum of non-stimulated and in LPS-stimulated piglets. In conclusion, whole plant supplementation of oregano to piglet feed altered immune-related parameters, but did not modulate the acute inflammatory response induced by LPS stimulation.

Structures of two novel trimeric stilbenes obtained by horseradish peroxidase catalyzed biotransformation of trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin.

Two stilbenes, trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin, as well as a mixture of both, were biotransformed using horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide. Under the applied conditions trans-resveratrol afforded one major product, which was identified as trans-delta-viniferin, a resveratrol-trans-dehydrodimer. Large-scale biotransformation of a mixture of trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin yielded two novel resveratrol trimers, resviniferin A and resviniferin B, which were obtained in a pure form after fractionation by high-speed countercurrent chromatography and final purification by preparative HPLC. Their structures were established by means of mass spectrometry and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, including HSQC, HMBC, COSY, and ROESY.