Prospecting for Camptothecines from Nothapodytes nimmoniana in the Western Ghats, South India: Identification of High-Yielding Sources of Camptothecin and New Families of Camptothecines.

Citation: 
Ramesha, B.T., T. Amna, G. Ravikanth, Rajesh P, R Gunaga, R. Vasudeva, K.N. Ganeshaiah, R. Uma Shaanker, K. Khajuria, S.C. Puri and G.N. Qazi. 2008. Prospecting for Camptothecines from Nothapodytes nimmoniana in the Western Ghats, South India: Identification of High-Yielding Sources of Camptothecin and New Families of Camptothecines. Journal of Chromatographic Science 46: 362-368.
Authors: 
Ramesha, B.T., T. Amna, G. Ravikanth, Rajesh P, R Gunaga, R. Vasudeva, K.N. Ganeshaiah, R. Uma Shaanker, K. Khajuria, S.C. Puri and G.N. Qazi.

Camptothecin (CPT), a monoterpene alkaloid, is an important anti-cancer compound obtained from several plant sources including Camptotheca acuminta (from China) and Nothapodytes nimmoniana (from India). Currently, by far the highest levels of CPT (approximately 0.3% w/w) are reported from Nothapodytes nimmoniana, a small tree distributed in the Western Ghats, India. In recent years because of the heavy demand, there has been a serious threat of extinction of the populations of the tree in the Western Ghats forest of south India. Several studies have chemically profiled populations of the species in the Western Ghats to identify sources of high yield and therefore to enable the sustainable production and harvesting of CPT. In this study, using both high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we report for the first time the identification of trees that produce at least 5- to 8-fold more CPT than hitherto reported. Furthermore, we show for the first time the production of a few minor camptothecines, including 10-hydroxy camptothecin, in the stem and root bark extracts of the tree. These results have important implications for not only harnessing the high-yielding individuals for clonal multiplication but also for exploiting some of the minor camptothecines, which also have been shown to have important anti-cancer and anti-viral activity.

Full Text URL: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18402730
Year of publication: 
05.2008
People: 
Dr. G Ravikanth
Dr. Ganeshaiah KN
Dr R Uma Shaanker