Apiaceae plants

Khattab, M.E. and Omer, E.A. (1999) Influence of excessive fertilization with micro nutrients on the growth, yield, essential oil and micro elements of some Apiaceae plants. Egyptian Journal of Horticulture 26(3), 249-266. 

Several scientific studies provide evidence of the traditional use of parsley in medicine. Food plants of the Apiaceae plant family such as parsley, carrots and celery contain a group of bioactive aliphatic C17-polyacety-lenes, which were shown to be highly toxic towards fungi, bacteria and mammalian cells and to display neurotoxic, anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet aggregatory effects and to be responsible for allergic skin reactions in a study by Christensen and Brandt (2006). The effect of these polyacetylenes towards human cancer cells, their human bioavailability and their ability to reduce tumour formation in a mammalian in vivo model indicate that they may be beneficial for health. 

As to the next oil a scientific confusion must be mentioned the common name black caraway belongs to the seeds of Nigella sativa (Ranunculaceae) and not to the Apiaceae plant Carum. Therefore, Carum nigrum is a wrong botanical name, even if the seeds of N. sativa are black and resemble to the seeds of Carum carvi. The confusion that has been created by the authors of the articles (Singh et al., 2006) by using possibly local justified terms, but nevertheless wrong botanical names still persists. 

More than 700 polyacetylene compounds have been characterized from plants, which are mainly prominent in the Asteraceae, Apiaceae and Campanulaceae including many medicinal plants from various parts of the world (Hudson 1989). Food plants of the Apiaceae plant family such as carrots, celery, parsley, fennel and parsnip contain a group of bioactive aliphatic C17-polyacetylenes including falcarinol, falcarindiol, panaxydiol, and polyacetylene 8-0-methylfalcarindiol (Zidom et al. 2005 Christensen and Brandt 2006). 

Ferrie, A.M.R., Bethune, T.D., Mykytyshyn, M., 2011b. Microspore embryogenesis in Apiaceae. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult. 104, 399—106. 

The traditional system of medicine of the Pacific Rim uses approx 80 species of Apiaceae, for instance, Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Hydrocotyle asiatica L. centella, Indian Pharmaceutical Codex, 1955). The plant has been used in India since early times for skin diseases and as a diuretic. It has long been a popular remedy in India for leprosy and syphilis. However, large doses are said to have narcotic action. The plant was used also by the surgeons of Napoleon s army. 

Christensen, L. P., and Brandt, K. (2006). Bioactive polyacetylenes in food plants of the Apiaceae family Occurrence, bioactivity and analysis. /. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 41,683-693. 

Flavone synthase (FNS EC 1.14.11.22) introduces a double bond between C2 and C3 of a flavanone to produce the corresponding flavone. This activity was initially identified in parsley cell suspension cultures and subsequently shown to be encoded by a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase [67, 78, 79], This enzyme, now known as FNS-I, appears to have very limited distribution. To date, it has only been identified in the Apiaceae family (Umbellifers). The more widely occurring FNS-II (CYP93B) was initially identified from snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) flowers [80] and was subsequently shown to be a P450 enzyme. FNS-I, FNS-II, and the various roles flavones play in plant species have recently been reviewed by Martens and Mithofer [81], Subsequent to this review, Yu et al. [82] demonstrated that the characteristic lack of natural accumulation of flavones in Brassicaceae could not be overcome in A. thaliana even by overexpression of recombinant parsley FNS-I. 

Plants that can cause photodermatitis include carrots, celery, parsnip, dill, fennel, caraway, parsley, lovage, anise, and chervil among the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae, or carrot family), figs (Moraceae), and citrus fruits (grapefruit, lemon, lime. 

Asteraceae, Milliaceae and Apiaceae, are among some plant families that are known to have insecticidal constituents. Vulgar-one B (isolated from Artemisia douglasiana Asteraceae), apiol (isolated from Ligusticum hultenii Apiaceae), and cnicin (isolated from Centaurea maculosa Asteraceae) cause significant mortality to Formosan subterranean... 

Angelica root oil is obtained by steam distillation of the dried roots of Angelica archangelica L. [Archangelica officinalis (Moench) Hoffm.], a plant occurring predominantly in Europe (Apiaceae). The oil is a pale yellow to deep amber liquid with a green, herbaceous, peppery, musk-like odor and a bittersweet taste. 

Dill oil is obtained from the dill plant, Anethum graveolens L. (Apiaceae), in two different forms ... 

Lovage oils are obtained by steam distillation of either the leaves (leaf oil) or the fresh roots (root oil) of the perennial plant Levisticum officinale Koch (Apiaceae). Both oils are yellow-greenish-brown to dark brown liquids with a strong, characteristic, aromatic odor and taste. 

Parsley oils are produced from the plant Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Nym. ex A. W. Hill (P. sativum Hoffm.), (Apiaceae) ... 

Phenylpropanoids are widespread in higher plants, especially in the plants that produce essential oils, e.g. plants of the families, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Rutaceae. For example, Tolu balsam (Myroxylon balsamum, family Fabaceae) yields a high concentration of cinnamic acid esters, cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, family Lauraceae) produces cinnamaldehyde, fennel (Foeniculum vulgare, family Apiaceae) is a good... 

Coumarins occur abundantly in various plant families, e.g. Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Moraceae, Poaceae, Rutaceae and Sola-naceae. However, the Apiaceae alt. Umbelliferae) and the Rutaceae are the two most important coumarin-producing plant families. 

Many unsaturated compounds found in nature contain one or more acetylenic bonds, and these are predominantly produced by further desaturation of olefinic systems in fatty acid-derived molecules. They are surprisingly widespread in nature, and are found in many organisms, but are especially common in plants of the Compositae/Asteraceae, the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae, and fungi of the group... 

Coumarins are widely distributed in plants, and are commonly found in families such as the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae and Rutaceae, both in the free form and as glycosides. Coumarin itself is... 

In summary, the seed of the plant C. cymi-num of the family Apiaceae and a native from the eastern Mediterranean to East India has been used as a spice since Biblical... 

Anise or aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the eastern Mediterranean region and South-west Asia. It is widely cultivated in southern and central Europe, the former USSR, North Africa and, to a lesser extent, Mexico and South America (Ross, 2001). In India, it is grown to a small extent as a culinary herb or as a garden plant. The spice aniseed is the fruit of P. anisum. 

Plant species of the family Apiaceae are known to accumulate flavonoids, mainly in the form of flavones and flavonols (Fig. 21.2). Kreuzaler and Hahlbrock (1973) isolated 24 different flavonoid glycosides from illuminated cell suspension cultures of parsley [P. hortense). The chemical structures of 14 of these compounds were further... 

Guiet et al. (2003) demonstrated that deuterium (2H) distribution in fatty acids was non-statistical and could be related to isotopic discrimination during chain extension and desaturation. Petroselinic acid (C18 1A6) (Fig. 21.4), a fatty acid characteristic of the seeds of the Apiaceae, has been shown to be biosynthesized from palmitoyl-ACP (C16 0) by two steps, catalysed by a dedicated A4-desaturase and an elongase. The isotopic profile resulting from this pathway is similar to the classical plant fatty acid pathway, but the isotopic fingerprint from both the desaturase and elongase steps shows important differences relative to oleic and linoleic acid biosynthesis. 

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