Determination of artemisinin in Artemisia sieberi and anticoccidial effects of the plant extract in broiler chickens

Artemisinin has received much attention in the treatment of malaria in recent years, and it is now considered as a potential candidate to reduce coccidial infection in chickens. It is a sesquiterpene compound which has been isolated from Aretemisia annua for the first time. The present study aimed to investigate the occurrence of artemisinin in A. sieberi (AS) and to test the anticoccidial effects of plant extract in broiler chickens. The aerial parts of the plant were collected during different seasons from Yazd Province, in the centre of Iran. The artemisinin content of the AS was extracted with petrol ether and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography using UV detection. Anticoccidial effects of the plant extract were tested on chicks challenged with various species of Eimeria. The infected chickens were treated with doses of 1 or 2.5 mg/kg per day artemisinin via oral administration of plant extract. The analytical results showed that the level of artemisinin in AS was 0.2% and 0.14% of dried weight (DW) of plant materials in summer and autumn, respectively. Treatment of experimentally infected chickens with AS extracts showed that artemisinin was able to reduce the severity of coccidial infection induced by Eimeria tenella and E. acervulina, but not E. maxima. The anticoccidial effects of artemisinin were shown by significant decrease in output of number of oocysts per gram of faeces in chickens challenged with different species of Eimeria. This study showed that the levels of artemisinin in AS were comparable with those in other species including A. annua, and that the extract of this plant can reduce coccidial infection in broiler chickens.     

栽培与野生黄花蒿中化学组分的FTIR表征及青蒿素含量比较分析

本研究运用FTIR技术,对栽培和野生黄花蒿不同部位化学成分的红外光谱特征进行指认,并比较分析两者不同部位青蒿素含量差异。结果显示：酰胺、芳香类物质均以栽培黄花蒿茎和叶片中多;可溶性多糖和糖苷类物质,栽培与野生黄花蒿茎中含量相近,但是,叶片中含量以栽培黄花蒿高;纤维素类物质,栽培茎少于野生茎,而两种黄花蒿叶片的纤维素含量相近。与青蒿素标准品比较,栽培和野生黄花蒿不同部位青蒿素含量有一定差异,其中栽培叶最高,其次是野生叶,栽培茎的含量最低。所以,运用FTIR技术可以快速判断栽培和野生型黄花蒿主要化学成分的差异,本研究对黄花蒿的引种驯化和良种选育工作有一定指导意义。     

CBL模式在生物教学中的应用——以“屠呦呦获诺贝尔奖”为例

为了进一步提高教学质量,设计了一堂青蒿素及其衍生物的研究进展课,探索以案例为基础的学习(CBL)模式下学生对理论知识的掌握程度,以期为河南师范大学生命科学学院生物学教学提供参考。结果证实:该教学模式达到了激发学生兴趣和提高教学质量的效果。     

青蒿中黄酮类化合物的提取及其抗氧化性研究

[目的]确定从青蒿中提取黄酮类化合物的优化条件,并研究其抗氧化活性。[方法]用正交试验法确定青蒿中黄酮类化合物提取的最佳方案,测定提取的粗黄酮类化合物的抗氧化活性。[结果]结果表明,青蒿中黄酮类化合物的最佳提取条件为：乙醇的体积分数为90%,提取时间3.0 h,固液比为1 g∶40 ml,提取温度为70℃,在此条件下青蒿中黄酮类化合物的提取率为2.885%。此外,青蒿黄酮类化合物具有明显的抑制脂质过氧化作用,随着猪油中黄酮类化合物添加量的增加,其抗氧化作用逐渐增强。[结论]青蒿中黄酮类化合物具有良好的抗氧化活性,作为天然的抗氧化剂,青蒿黄酮类化合物具有一定的开发利用价值。     

青蒿素提取与检测工艺的研究进展

[目的]综述青蒿素提取与检测工艺的研究进展。[方法]从青蒿素的理化性质及来源、提取方法与检测技术3方面来对青蒿素的研究进展进行综述。[结果]青蒿素为无色针状结晶,易溶于有机溶剂;青蒿素提取方法主要有传统有机溶剂提取法、超声波提取法、微波萃取法和超临界流体萃取法;青蒿素检测技术主要有紫外分光光度法、高效液相色谱法、高效液相色谱-蒸发光检测法等。[结论]为研究者能更好地研究青蒿素,满足国际市场的需求提供了基础资料。     

Influence of planting date on growth, artemisinin yield, seed and oil yield of Artemisia annua L. under temperate climatic conditions

Artemisia annua L. is an annual aromatic antibacterial herb, with effective antimalarial properties due to the presence of artemisinin. The intention of the present study was to establish plant survival, growth attributes, yield attributes and artemisinin yield of A. annua cv CIM - Arogya with different transplanting months in two cropping seasons (March 2005-February 2006 and March 2006-February 2007) under temperate climatic conditions of Himalaya, India. Artemisinin yield in the dried leaves was found maximum amongst the plants that were transplanted in March (24.39 kg ha⁻¹) and minimum in those transplanted in November (3.39 kg ha⁻¹).     

青蒿素在原虫病治疗中的作用及机理研究进展

原虫是一种单细胞真核生物,整个虫体由一个细胞构成,可以寄生在机体的腔道、体液、组织或细胞内。原虫病严重危害人类健康和养殖业发展。目前,广泛使用的化学药物治疗会产生耐药性、药物残留和毒副作用等弊端。青蒿素作为一种从植物黄花蒿中提取的天然物质,对多种原虫具有治疗作用,与化学药物相比更加安全、廉价甚至更高效。本文对青蒿素在原虫病治疗中的作用和机理进行综述,旨在为其应用于原虫病治疗提供理论依据。     

Allelopathic effects of artemisinin on ectomycorrhizal fungal isolates in vitro

The anti-malarial drug artemisinin is extracted from the leaves of Artemisia annua L. The release of artemisinin into forest soils could produce a potential risk for forest ecosystems, including effects on ectomycorrhizal fungal nutrient uptake, in areas where commercial and continual cultivation of the medicinal plant A. annua L. is practiced. Therefore, growth, proton and oxalate efflux, and nutrient uptake (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) of three isolates of Suillus luteus (S. luteus 1, S. luteus 13, and S. luteus 11) and of one isolate of Suillus subluteus (S. subluteus 12) were compared in culture solutions with different nominal artemisinin concentrations. The results showed that artemisinin inhibited significantly the growth of all studied fungi. With 25 mg artemisinin L⁻¹ added, fungal biomass was decreased by 78.6% (S. luteus 1), 96.7% (S. luteus 13), 77.8% (S. luteus 11) and 86.8% (S. subluteus 12) compared with the control (without artemisinin). This could explain, at least in part, why ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps in forests are consistently not found near cultivated A. annua L. fields. The amount of proton efflux by the fungal isolates also decreased as nominal artemisinin concentrations increased, indicating the limited ability of ectomycorrhizal fungi to mobilize nutrients from soil minerals. However, nominal artemisinin significantly increased the rate of fungal oxalate efflux, suggesting membrane damage and the abnormal opening of anion channels on hyphae cell membranes. Nominal artemisinin also decreased the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by the fungal isolates, which may not benefit from the nutrient uptake by ectomycorrhizae. Therefore, artemisinin released from large A. annua L. plantations may inhibit ectomycorrhizal fungal growth, nutrition and functions in forest ecosystems in Southwest China.     

Effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on concentrations of essential oil and artemisinin in three accessions of Artemisia annua L.

A field experiment was conducted to study and compare the effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Glomus macrocarpum (GM) and Glomus fasciculatum (GF) on three accessions of Artemisia annua. The AM inoculation significantly increased the production of herbage, dry weight of shoot, nutrient status (P, Zn and Fe) of shoot, concentration of essential oil and artemisinin in leaves as compared to non-inoculated plants. The extent of growth, nutrient concentration and production of secondary plant metabolites varied with the fungus–plant accession combination. The mycorrhizal dependency of the three accessions was related to the shoot: root ratio. Comparing the two fungal inoculants in regard to increase in essential oil concentration in shoot, the effectiveness of GF was more than that of GM. While in two accessions, GM was more effective in enhancing artemisinin concentration than GF. Increase in concentration of essential oil was found to be positively correlated to P-status of the plant. Conversely, no correlation was found between shoot-P and artemisinin concentration.     

Impact of organic manure and chemical fertilizers on artemisinin content and yield in Artemisia annua L

Artemisinin isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia annua L. is a promising and potent antimalarial drug. It posses remarkable activity against both chloroquinine resistant as well as chloroquinine sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It is also useful in the treatment of cerebral malaria. The relatively low content of artemisinin in A. annua and unavailability of cost effective and viable synthetic protocol however, are major obstacles to the commercial production of the drug. The enhanced production of artemisinin is hence, highly desirable, which can be achieved by adequate and judicious supply of plant nutrients. The present experiment was therefore, designed to study the effect of organic manure (15 tonnes ha⁻¹) and chemical fertilizers (N₄₀₊₄₀, P₄₀, K₄₀, S₁₅₊₁₅ kg ha⁻¹; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur) on the accumulation of artemisinin and biomass in various plant parts through the developmental stages of A. annua L. Artemisinin yield (kg ha⁻¹) was also determined through the developmental stages of A. annua L. Artemisinin content and artemisinin yield of dried leaves were increased significantly at pre-flowering stage in the plants treated with NPKS (27.3% and 53.6%) and NPK (18.2% and 33.5%), respectively, when compared with control. Maximum dry yield of leaf ranging from 2596 to 3141 kg ha⁻¹ was observed at pre-flowering stage with various treatments.