demethyleneberberine and protoberberine

Protoberberine alkaloids, including berberine, palmatine, and berberrubine, are produced by medicinal plants and are known to have various pharmacological effects. We isolated two berberine-utilizing bacteria, Sphingobium sp. strain BD3100 and Rhodococcus sp. strain BD7100, from soil collected at a natural medicine factory. BD3100 had the unique ability to utilize berberine or palmatine as the sole carbon and energy source. BD3100 produced demethyleneberberine in berberine-supplemented medium. In a resting-cell incubation with berberine, BD3100 produced 11-hydroxyberberine; the structure of 11-hydroxyberberine was determined by detailed analysis of NMR and MS spectroscopic data. α-Naphthoflavone, miconazole, and ketoconazole, which are known inhibitors of cytochrome P450, interfered with BD3100 metabolism of berberine in resting cells. Inhibition by miconazole led to the production of a new compound, 11-hydroxydemethyleneberberine. In a resting-cell incubation with palmatine, BD3100 generated 11-hydroxypalmatine. This work represents the first report of the isolation and characterization of novel berberine-utilizing aerobic bacteria for the production of 11-hydroxylation derivatives of berberine and palmatine.

Topics: Benzoflavones; Berberine; Berberine Alkaloids; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors; Hydroxylation; Japan; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Structure; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; Plants, Medicinal; Sphingomonadaceae

Various berberine derivatives (2-17) were synthesized and their antihyperglycemic activities were evaluated in a model of beta-cell-membrane chromatography and a model of alloxan-induced diabetes mice. The results indicated that compounds 5 and 14 exhibited antihyperglycemic activity. Their structure-activity relationships were discussed.

Topics: Alloxan; Animals; Berberine Alkaloids; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Hypoglycemic Agents; Mice; Molecular Structure; Structure-Activity Relationship