Rubiaceae

The coffee plant is a relatively small tree or shmb belonging to the family Rubiaceae. It is often controlled to a height of 3 to 5 meters. Coffea arabica (milds) accounts for 69% of world production Coffea canephora (robustas), 30% and Coffea liberica and others, 1%. Each of these species includes several varieties. After the spring rains the plant produces white flowers. About sis months later the flowers are replaced by fmit approximately the size of a small cherry, hence they are called cherry. The fmit on a tree can include underripe, ripe (red, yellow, and purple color), and overripe cherries. It can be selectively picked (ripe only) or strip picked (predominantly ripe plus some underripe and overripe). 

Alizarin. There is only one significant plant anthraquinone dye, alizariu [72-48-0] (Cl Natural Red 6, 8, 9,10, 11, and 12 Cl 75330). In ancient times, alizaria was the preferred red dye. Cloth dyed with it has been found in Egyptian tombs dating 6000 years ago. The dye is found in the madder plant, a member of the Rubiaceae family. In 1944 about 35 species of this plant were known (1), but the use of more sophisticated analytical methods led to the detection of many more species by 1984 the number had increased to 50 (2). Of these, tinctorum and R peregrina yield the greatest amount of dye,... 

Leptactina senegambica (Rubiaceas). The root-bark contains about 1 per cent, of alkaloids, including leptactinine, m.p. 264f-6°, which forms a picrate, m.p. 258° (dec.), picrolonate, m.p. 196°, and styphnate, m.p. 240-2°. The colour reactions with numerous alkaloidal reagents are recorded, some of which indicate that an indole nucleus is present. Pharmacological effects of an extract of the root bark are described (Paris and Bouquet, Ann. pharm. franc., 1946, 4, 233). 

The two main species of commercial interest in the genus Coffea are Coffea arabica and Coffe a canephora var. robusta. They are conveniently referred to as Arabica and Robusta, respectively. Each genus covers a number of varietals there are at least 13 varieties of Arabica coffees, for example. The genus is in the botanical family of Rubiaceae. 

Madder, also known as Turkey red, is a scarlet dye extracted from perennial herbaceous plants of the order Rubiacea, of which there are about 35 species (Chenciner 2001 Farnsworth 1951). A well-known plant from this order is Rubia tinctorum, found naturally in Palestine and Egypt, abundant in Asia and Europe, and extensively cultivated in the ancient world, was widely used for production of the dye since remote antiquity. The use of madder for dyeing seems to have originated in the Middle East it was identified in many textiles found in Egyptian tombs and in woolen fabrics from the Judean Desert in Palestine. It was also used by the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Madder from other varieties of Rubiacea plants were used by the Incas in ancient Peru (Schaefer 1941 Fieser 1930). 

Such alkaloids can be found particularly in the Myristicaceae, Malpighiaceae, Rutaceae, Apocynaceae, Rubiaceae, Loganiaceae, and Convolvulaceae. Such compounds are also found in mushrooms from the genera Conocybe, Panaeolus, Psilocybe, and Stropharia (Agaricaceae), which where used by the Aztecs of pre-Columbian America for their psilocin. 

About 120 species of plants classified within the family Rubiaceae are used in traditional medicine of Asia and the Pacific, of which, Mitragyna speciosa has been used throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Borneo, as an intoxicant. The leaves are chewed alone or mixed with betel, or else prepared for smoking like opium, and its use is legally prescribed in Thailand. 

A classical example of medicinal Rubiaceae of Asian origin is Uncaria gambir (Hunter ) Roxb., from which is extracted an astringent extract (catechu, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), employed for the treatment of diarrhea. 

The family Rubiaceae consists of about 450 genera and 6500 species of tropical and subtropical trees, shrubs, climbers, and herbs that are known to abound with iri-doid glycosides (monoterpenoid alkaloids, tannins, and anthraquinones). When looking for Rubiaceae in field collection, one is advised to look for plants with opposite simple leaves with an interpetiolar stipule, tubular flowers, which are often white, and capsules, berries, or drupes. 

The contribution of Rubiaceae to Western pharmaceuticals and medicine is substantial because it is the source for Uncaria gambier (Hunt.) Roxb. (Catechu, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1963), Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) A. Rich. (uragoga ipecacuanha, Brazilian ipecacuanha), or Cephaelis acuminata Karsten (Cartagena ipecacuanha) (Ipecacuanha, British Pharmacopeia, 1963), Cinchona calisaya (yellow... 

In regard to the antineoplastic potentials of Rubiaceae, some evidence has already been presented that clearly demonstrates that anthraquinones inhibit the enzymatic activity of topoisomerase II. An example of antineoplastic anthraquinones that target topoisomerase II is mitoxantrone (Novatrone ), which is currently approved for clinical use in the United States (16). In the Pacific Rim, about 150 species of plants classified within the family Rubiaceae are medicinal, of which Prismatomeris albidiflora, Krtoxia valeriartoides, Damnacanthus indicus, and Morinda umbellata are known to produce anthraquinones. An interesting development from Rubiaceae would be to investigate its members for anthraquinones and assess them for topoisomerase inhibitors. The discovery of inhibitors of topoisomerase II of clinical antineoplastic value can be reasonably expected. 

RPLC separation with spectrophotometric detection is often applied to the identification of the anthraquinone colour components of cochineal, lac dye and madder. [28,40,41,50 53] In particular the latter, containing many colourants, is the object of many research studies. Due to the large number of anthraquinones isolated from plants of the Rubiaceae family, their unambiguous identification solely by UV-Vis detection is not always possible,... 

Figure 13.2 Structures of colour components present in plants of the Rubiaceae family. A, 6 O f3 D xylopyrosyl D glycosyl...

One of the best studied tryptamine derivatives is DMT (37). DMT and 5-OMeDMT (59) are probably the active constituents of a variety of South American hallucinogenic snuffs. These and related indolealkylamines have been detected in members of at least five different plant families Agaricaceae, Leg-uminosae, Malpighiaceae, Myristicaceae and Rubiaceae (107,109,110,187). In... 

Rubber, tellurium in, 24 427-428 Rubber, vulcanization of, 23 646 Rubbery plateau, 24 701 Rubella vaccine, 25 490-491 Rubiaceae... 

Leai MB, Eiisabetsky E. (1996). Absence of aikaioids in Psychotria carthagenensis Jacq. (Rubiaceae). J Ethnopharmacol. 54(1) 37-40. 

So far cyclotides have been discovered in plants from the Violaceae (violet), Rubiaceae (coffee), and Cucurbitaceae (cucumber) families " and have been divided mainly into two structural subfamilies called the Mobius and bracelet cyclotides. These two cyclotide subfamilies are distinguished by the presence of a ar-proline residue in loop 5 for the Mobius subfamily. ° ° On the basis of their trypsin inhibitory activity, the two cyclotides MCoTi-I and MCoTi-II from the seeds of the tropical vine Momordica cochmchinensu form a third subfamily, referred to as the trypsin inhibitor subfamily of cyclotides. No other cyclotides have this activity. 

Cyclotides have been isolated from many plant tissues, including leaves, stems, flowers, roots, and Recently, the levels of the Mobius-type cyclotide kalata B1 were quantified in various plant tissues of the Rubiaceae family plant Oldenlandia affinis by Seydel and Dornenburg. They found raised levels of kalata B1 in shoot tips and leaves, while flowers and stems contained significantly lower levels of the peptide. 

Damnacanthol-3-0-(3-D-primeveroside (203) and lucidin 3-0-P-D-primeveroside (204), two anthraquinone isolates from -butanol soluble phase of the methanol extract of Morinda citrifolia L. (family Rubiaceae) roots, were evaluated to demonstrate a significant reduction of the blood glucose levels (p < 0.05) at 5 h after oral administration (100 mg/kg/body-weight). ... 

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