Digenea simplex

The known anthelmintic properties of the seaweed Digenea simplex Agardh were traced back to a-kainic acid (75) after several decades of intense work by Japanese workers (117, 118). A structure was rapidly proposed for this relatively small molecule (C10H15NO4) on the basis of chemical (119) and X-ray evidence (120). a-Allokainic acid was isolated soon after from the same source, and its structure was established as 76 (121, 122). 

Medical (neurology) a-kainic acid amino acid H S. COzH marine Digenea simplex Agardh, Rhodoph., of wide distribution but... 

The red alga Digenea simplex has been used for the treatment of roundworm disease for centuries. Its active principle is kainic acid. The related domoic acid is a constituent of another red alga, Chondria armata, used for the same purpose. These compounds, known as kainoids, are potent neurotoxins and excitatory amino acids. Kainoids are important tools in neurophysiological research. Domoic acids are also produced by diatoms and were responsible for the shellfish poisonings known as amnesic shellfish poisonings that occurred in Canada in 1987. 

Another anthelmintic folk medicine used in Japan is the red algae Chondria armata belonging to the same family (Rhodomelaceae) with Digenea simplex. However, its use in this purpose has only been known from Tokunoshima, a small island located in the northeast of Okinawa. Its insecticidal property against flies has been noted by the residents of Yakushima, another island farther north. 

The ability of the alga Digenea simplex to combat intestinal worms has been exploited for many years in Japan.28 The active component has been shown to be (-)-a-kainic acid 2 [NB not (+)-a-allokainic acid 3] and similar properties have been reported for (-)-domoic acid 4.4b Insecticidal and/or anthelmintic properties of the acromelic acids have not been reported to date. 

Chondria armata (red alga) (Rhodomelaceae) Digenea simplex (red alga) (Rhodomelaceae)... 

Furfural C odium fragile, Digenea simplex, roasted coffee QLo 380, 381, 382, 379 (No. 1782)... 

Murakami, S., Takemoto, T, and Simizu, Z. 1953. Studies on the Effective Principles of Digenea simplex Ag. 1. Separation of the Effective Fraction by Liquid Chromatography. J Pharm Soc Japan I d, 1026—1029. 

Codium fragile, Digenea simplex, roasted coffee... 

The anthelmintic, insecticidal, and neuroexcitory activities of ( —)-kainic acid (151), isolated from the marine alga Digenea simplex, has prompted a variety of synthetic strategies. 

The isomeric acromelic acids A and B display a powerful neuroexcita-tory action and are structurally related to the anthelmintic kainic acid (406,407) and domoic acid (408), the known principles from the marine red algae Digenea simplex and Chondria armata, respectively. Both of the latter amino acids, the structures of which were determined by chemical and X-ray studies, attracted considerable interest as well because of their... 

Kanoids (kainic and domoic acid) Palmaria palmata, Digenea simplex ... 

For example, L-a-kainic acid, obtained from the red algae Digenea simplex (Rhodomelaceae), in ht not be regarded as an alkaloid. However,... 

Alkaloids derived from glutamic acid, other than y-aminobutyric acid (GABA), include kainic acid isolated from Digenea simplex, domoic acid isolated from Chondria armata, acromelic acids isolated from Clitocybe acromelalga, ibotenic acid isolated from Amanita strobiliformis Amanita pantherina), and tricholomic acid isolated from Tricholoma musucaria, and are described in this chapter. 

Digenea simplex (Rhodomelaceae) is a form of red algae. It is distributed in areas including the southern area of the Shiono Cape in Japan, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean. Dried whole algae are used as a crude drug under the name Kaininso in Japan, and are the material for the isolation of the roundworm ascaricide, kainic acid. 

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