senecionine and senkirkine

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are secondary plant metabolites that occur as food and feed contaminants. Acute and subacute PA poisoning can lead to severe liver damage in humans and animals, comprising liver pain, hepatomegaly and the development of ascites due to occlusion of the hepatic sinusoids (veno-occlusive disease). Chronic exposure to low levels of PA can induce liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. However, it is not well understood which transcriptional changes are induced by PA and whether all hepatotoxic PA, regardless of their structure, induce similar responses. Therefore, a 28-day subacute rat feeding study was performed with six structurally different PA heliotrine, echimidine, lasiocarpine, senecionine, senkirkine, and platyphylline, administered at not acutely toxic doses from 0.1 to 3.3 mg/kg body weight. This dose range is relevant for humans, since consumption of contaminated tea may result in doses of ~ 8 µg/kg in adults and cases of PA ingestion by contaminated food was reported for infants with doses up to 3 mg/kg body weight. ALT and AST were not increased in all treatment groups. Whole-genome microarray analyses revealed pronounced effects on gene expression in the high-dose treatment groups resulting in a set of 36 commonly regulated genes. However, platyphylline, the only 1,2-saturated and, therefore, presumably non-hepatotoxic PA, did not induce significant expression changes. Biological functions identified to be affected by high-dose treatments (3.3 mg/kg body weight) comprise cell-cycle regulation associated with DNA damage response. These functions were found to be affected by all analyzed 1,2-unsaturated PA.In conclusion, 1,2-unsaturated hepatotoxic PA induced cell cycle regulation processes associated with DNA damage response. Similar effects were observed for all hepatotoxic PA. Effects were observed in a dose range inducing no histopathological alterations and no increase in liver enzymes. Therefore, transcriptomics studies identified changes in expression of genes known to be involved in response to genotoxic compounds at PA doses relevant to humans under worst case exposure scenarios.

Topics: Animals; DNA Damage; Gene Expression; Humans; Liver; Liver Neoplasms; Plants; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Rats; Structure-Activity Relationship

1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are found in plants such as Asteraceae and Boraginaceae families. Acute PA poisoning via contaminated food or feed causes severe damage to liver depending on species-specific oral bioavailability. For assessing PA bioavailability, their passage across the intestinal barrier was investigated using Caco-2 cells.. Differentiated Caco-2 cells were exposed in transport chambers to the PA heliotrine (Hn), echimidine (Em), senecionine (Sc), and senkirkine (Sk). Cell supernatants were analyzed by LC-MS/MS.. PA pass Caco-2 monolayer from the apical into basolateral compartment depending on their chemical structure. Compared to the cyclic diesters Sc and Sk with a passage rate of 47% ± 4 and 40% ± 3, respectively, the transferred amount of the monoester Hn (32% ± 3) and open-chained diester Em (13% ± 2) was substantially lower. This suggested an active transport of Hn and Em. Using Madin-Darby canine kidney II/P-glycoprotein (ABCB1)-overexpressing cells, the active excretion of Hn and Em by ABCB1 from the gastrointestinal epithelium into the gut lumen was shown.. PA cross the intestinal barrier structure-dependently. The passage of the noncyclic PA Hn and Em is reduced by an ABCB1-driven efflux into the gastrointestinal lumen resulting in a decreased oral bioavailability.

Topics: Animals; Asteraceae; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; Biological Availability; Biological Transport; Biological Transport, Active; Caco-2 Cells; Chromatography, Liquid; Dogs; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells; Plant Extracts; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are feeding deterrents and toxic compounds to generalist herbivores. Among the PAs of Jacobaea vulgaris Gaertn, jacobine and erucifoline are the most effective against insect herbivores as indicated by correlative studies. Because little is known about the effect of jacobine and erucifoline as individual PAs, we isolated these compounds from their respective Jacobaea chemotypes. These PAs and other commercially available senecionine-like PAs, including senecionine, seneciphylline, retrorsine, and senkirkine, were tested as free base and N-oxide forms at a range of 0-70 ppm. Feeding bioassays using live insects are closer to the natural pattern but require relatively large amounts of test compounds. We, therefore, compared the toxicity of PAs using both Spodoptera exigua cell line and larval injection bioassays. Both bioassays led to similar results in the order of PA toxicity, indicating that the cell lines are a valuable tool for a first toxicity screen. Testing individual PAs, jacobine and erucifoline were the most toxic PAs, suggesting their major role in plant defense against generalist herbivores. Senkirkine and seneciphylline were less toxic than jacobine and erucifoline but more toxic than retrorsine. Senecionine was not toxic at the tested concentrations. For all toxic PAs, the free base form was more toxic than the N-oxide form. Our results demonstrate that structural variation of PAs influences their effectiveness in plant defense.

Topics: Animals; Biological Assay; Cell Line; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Herbivory; Larva; Oxides; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Spodoptera; Structure-Activity Relationship

Tussilago farfara (Kuan Donghua) is an important Chinese herbal medicine which has been shown to contain many bioactive compounds and widely used to relieve cough and resolve phlegm. However, besides therapeutic bioactive compounds, this herb has been found to contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), mainly senkirkine and traces of senecionine. In this report, conditions for microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) were optimized for the extraction of the PAs. The results were compared against heating under reflux. It was found that the binary mixture of MeOH:H(2)O (1:1) acidified using HCl to pH 2-3 was the optimal solvent for the extraction of the PAs in the plant materials. Liquid chromatography (LC) with ultra-violet (UV) detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in the positive mode was used for the determination and quantitation of senkirkine and senecionine in the botanical extract. The proposed extraction methods with LC/MS allow for the rapid detection of the major and the minor alkaloids in T. farfara in the presence of co-eluting peaks. With LC/MS, the quantitative analysis of PAs in the extract was done using internal standard calibration and the precision was found to vary from 0.6% to 5.4% on different days. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantitation (LOQs) for MAE and PHWE were found to vary from 0.26 microg/g to 1.04 micro/g and 1.32 micro/g to 5.29 microg/g, respectively. The method precision of MAE and PHWE were found to vary from 3.7% to 10.4% on different days. The results showed that major and minor alkaloids extracted using MAE and PHWE were comparable to that by heating under reflux. Our data also showed that significant ion suppression was not observed in the analysis of senkirkine and senecionine in the botanical extracts with co-eluting peaks.

Topics: Alkaloids; Chromatography, Liquid; Hot Temperature; Microwaves; Pressure; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Tussilago; Water

Senecio vernalis and other plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are implicated in the poisoning of cattle. The liver is a known target organ. In this study the content of the alkaloids senecionine (SCO), senkirkin (SKK) and seneciphyllin (SCP) and their toxic effects in cattle were studied. The content of these 3 compounds only varied by a factor of 2 within 10 plant collections at different locations in western Denmark (Jutland). However, individual alkaloids varied 3-fold, and the interplant variation for some of the PA up to 8-fold. SCO and SKK had very short half lives, 20 min and 70 min respectively. In cattle fed dried plant material corresponding to 200 and 400 g of fresh material for 10 d alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and g-glutamyl transferase activities remained unchanged. Cattle subsequently fed fresh plant material up to 1 kg/d for 8 d also had no change in liver enzyme activities. Cattle did not show any clinical signs of poisoning, and no morphological liver changes were observed.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Denmark; Female; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; Liver; Plant Poisoning; Plants, Toxic; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Senecio

A study of the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) contained in Packera candidissima (Greene) Weber & Löve (Senecio candidissimus Greene), a Mexican medicinal plant used for the treatment of kidney ailments and noted for its antiseptic properties, is reported. Analysis by TLC and GC-MS have shown the presence in high levels of both PAs and their N-oxides in the root (0.76% dry weight) and the aerial parts (0.36% dry weight) of the plant material. GC-MS analysis showed the presence of senecionine, integerrimine, retrorsine, and usaramine in the aerial parts. The root was found to contain senkirkine as the major component. These results indicate that users of this herb are at high risk of poisoning, especially members of certain cultural groups in Northern Mexico and the Hispanic population in the southwestern United States. In addition, two sesquiterpenes, neoadenostylone and epineoadenostylone were identified from the neutral extracts of this plant material. The 6 alpha-angeloyloxy-9-oxo-delta 10(1)-furanoeremophilane is reported for the first time as a natural product.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Carcinogens; Chemical Fractionation; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Humans; Kidney Diseases; Liver; Medicine, Traditional; Mexico; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Sesquiterpenes; Ulcer

Two toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids were isolated from Senecio leucanthemifolius and six from Senecio rodriguezii. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods.

Topics: Plants, Toxic; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; Senecio