Berberis japonica

Laudanosoline (XCV), labeled with at both the C-3 position (64% of the total activity) and in its iV -methyl group, when administered to Berberis japonica gave rise to radioactive alkaloids 125). Conversion of the berberine to phenyldihydroberberine (XCVI), followed by oxidation, gave benzoic acid containing 34% of the total activity of the alkaloid. 

Berberis japonica R.Br. (BerberidaceaeXSee Mahoniajaponica DC.. (Berberidaceae)[SS]) Berberis julianae Schneid. (Berberidaceae)[63]... 

Employing labeled A-norlaudanosolines it has been shown that it is the precursor of papaverine, the hydrophenanthrene alkaloids (IIB), and reticuline (203) in Papaver somniferum. Laudanosoline itself was found to be incorporated into berberine in Berberis japonica, the carbon atom 8 of the latter base originating from the A-methyl group of the former (198). 

Berberine Berberis wilsoniae Coptis japonica Thalictrum minus... 

T. baicalense, T. fauriel, T. petaloideum, T. simplex, T. squarrosum, T thunbergii Berberis amurensis, B. poiretii, B. sibirica, B. soulieana, Caltha palustris, Coptis chinensis, C. japonica,... 

Coelocline sp. (Annonaceae), Berberis vulgaris, B. sp., Hydrastis canadensis, Mahonia sp., Nandina sp. (Berberidaceae), Archangelica sp. (Menispermaceae), Argemone sp., Chelidonium sp., Corydalis sp. (Papaveraceae), Coptis chinensis, C.japonica, Thalictrum sp. (Ranunculacae), Evodia sp., Toddalia sp., ifanthoxylum sp. (Rutaceae)... 

Figure 2.6 Biosynthesis of berberine from (5)-reticuline in Berberis species and Coptis japonica. BBE, berberine bridge enzyme SCMT, (5)-scoulerine-9-0-methyltransferase CAS, (5)-canadine synthase STOX, tetrahydroberberine oxidase COX, enzyme found in Coptis japonica.

S)-canadine can act as a substrate for the tetrahydroberberine oxidase (STOX) enzyme isolated from Berberis and may be converted by this enzyme to berberine (Zenk, 1995) however, the oxidase found in Coptis japonica (COX)... 

Obamegine (XCIII), C36H3806N2-IfCeHe (mp 171°-173°), is a new berbamine-type alkaloid isolated from Berberis tschonoskyana Regel (44) and later from Stephania japonica Miers (71). 

Berberine Coptis japonica, Berberis 16.50 C. japonica SC Thalictrum SC 7 g/liter 0.87 g/liter... 

Nevertheless in 1985 an oxidase was reported from crude extracts of Coptis japonica cell cultures with different properties as compared to the enzyme from Berberis. This led to a systematic comparison of the two cell cultures concerning the last steps of the berberine biosynthesis. The purified oxidase from... 

Coleus blumei Anchusa officinalis Lithospermum erythrorhizon Morinda citrifolia Rubia fruticosa Syringa vulgaris Coptis japonica Thalictrum minus Berberis stolonifera Ruawolfia serpentina Catharanthus roseus... 

Berberine (71) is produced by several plant cell cultures (Ellis, 1988). Suspension cultures of Coptis japonica produce large quantities (8% by dry weight) of berberine. Some cultures excrete berberine directly into the culture medium whereupon it crystallizes (Ellis, 1988). Cell cultures of some Berberis species synthesize jatrorrhizine (69) and colum-bamine (70) as the principal alkaloids, especially during the exponential growth phase and stationary phase (Verpoorte et al., 1991). Many of these same cultures produce berberine as the major alkaloid during lag-phase growth. 

Looking for example at the use of so far described basal media the production of jatrorrhizine in Berberis stolonifera cell cultures (Hinz and Zenk 1981) was optimal in LS-medium (Linsmaier and Skoog 1965), the cell suspension cultures of Coptis japonica (Sato and Yamada 1984) gave the best results in White medium (White 1963), md Eschscholtzia califomica (Papaveraceae) (Berlin et al. 1983) was cultivated with the best results in B5 medium (Gamborg et al. 1968). 

Nearly all cultures described so far grow best with sucrose as carbon source, but there are exceptions. Yamamoto (1981) for instance observed that his culture of Coptis japonica showed the highest growth and production rate on maltose. The optimal concentration of sucrose may differ from culture to culture 8% sucrose was best for Eschscholtzia califomica (Berlin et al. 1983), 3% for Coptis japonica (Sato and Yamada 1984), 4% for Tinospora caffra (Menispermaceae) (Rueffer unpublished), and 3.5% for Berberis stolonifera (Hinz and Zenk 1981). 

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