Disease relevance of Cucurbitaceae

• Oral administration of Coccinia indica leaf extract (CLEt) (200 mg/kg body weight) for 45 days resulted in a significant reduction in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and hydroperoxides [1].

High impact information on Cucurbitaceae

• The diabroticite rootworm beetles coevolved with plants of the family Cucurbitaceae as demonstrated by their feeding dependence on the tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins [2].
• Extracts from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino (Cucurbitaceae), a Southeast Asian herb, has been reported to affect numerous activities resulting in antitumor, cholesterol-lowering, immunopotentiating, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic effects [3].
• The crystal structure of the complex formed by porcine beta-trypsin with the MCTI-A inhibitor (Momordica charantia, Linn. Cucurbitaceae) has been determined at 1.6 A resolution using the molecular replacement method [4].
• Bryonia dioica (Cucurbitaceae family) produces at least two type I ribosome-inactivating proteins, bryodin 1 (BD1) and bryodin 2 (BD2) [5].
• As tubeimoside I isolated from Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.) Franquet (Cucurbitaceae) has been shown to suppress tumor promoter effects, tubeimoside III from the same plant was tested in vitro and in vivo against the action of the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) [6].

Biological context of Cucurbitaceae

• In the ITSs of Cucurbitaceae the balanced G + C composition is at least partly achieved by C to T transitions, via deamination of 5-methylcytosine [7].

Associations of Cucurbitaceae with chemical compounds

• Coccinia indica leaves were extracted with 60% ethanol, solvents were evaporated and the residue was suspended in water [8].
• Hypoglycaemic activity of Coccinia indica and Momordica charantia in diabetic rats: depression of the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and elevation of both liver and red-cell shunt enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [8].
• Its amino-acid composition resembles that of a serine proteinase isolated from the Cucurbitaceae [9].
• The antihepatotoxic activity of elaterium (dried juice of the fruits of Ecballium elaterium, Cucurbitaceae) and cucurbitacin B (isolated from the juice) was studied against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity [10].
• (Cucurbitaceae) was compared with that of glycyrrhetinic acid (2), the aglycone of glycyrrhizin from licorice [11].

Gene context of Cucurbitaceae

• A 7514-Da chymotrypsin inhibitor was isolated from the seed extract of Momordica cochinchinensis (Family Cucurbitaceae) by chromatography on chymotrypsin-Sepharose 4B and subsequently by C18 reversed-phase HPLC [12].
• Olean-12-enol (16), isomultiflorenol (8), and lupeol (23) were the dominant alcohols in the Cucurbitaceae family, whereas alpha-amyrin (urs-12-enol) (20) was the dominant triterpene alcohol in ATF and MNT [13].
• Unlike glucose-6-phosphatase, starvation induced levels of gluconeogenic enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were not affected by Coccinia extract [14].
• Anti-inflammatory efficacy of Melothria madraspatana in active rheumatoid arthritis [15].
• The synthesis of a 28-residue peptide isolated from Ecballium elaterium of the Cucurbitaceae family which strongly inhibits trypsin activities (Ka = 8.10(-11)M), using BOP as the coupling reagent in a solid phase procedure is presented [16].

References