A chemotaxonomic survey of kaurene derivatives in the genus Alepidea (Apiaceae)

Cedric W. Holzapfel, Ben Erik Van Wyk, Antonio De Castro, Wilhelmina Marais, Madrie Herbst

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Lipophilic extracts from the roots of 16 species of Alepidea were studied by GC-MS for the presence of kaurenoic acids, dehydrokaurenoic acids, kaurenic lactones, hydroxykaurenoic acids and other kaurene derivatives. Various mixtures of these compounds are present in yields of up to 11.8% dry wt. in the rhizomes and roots. Two different isomers of kaurenoic acid occur in Alepidea, the one as a major compound in all the species, the other as a major compound only in some of them. The first isomer is clearly a useful chemical marker for the genus Alepidea, but the apparent chemical dichotomy is not obviously correlated with morphological patterns. Alepidea amatymbica, however, is part of a morphologically isolated group within the genus and also differs from other species in its chemical complexity and in the unique presence of kaurenoic lactones.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)799-803
Number of pages5
JournalBiochemical Systematics and Ecology
Volume23
Issue number7-8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1995

Keywords

  • Alepidea
  • Apiaceae
  • chemotaxonomy
  • diterpenoids
  • kaurene derivatives
  • kaurenoic lactones

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Biochemistry

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