Perspectives of Search for Eicosanoid Analogs in Plants

Abstract

Arachidonic acid (20:4ω⁶), the main component of membrane lipids in animal tissues, is the percursor of a number of highly active bioregulators, namely, prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes and lipoxins. The success of research in this direction has led to attempts of searching for eicosanoids, particularly prostaglandins, in plant tissues |1–3|. One of the most thoroughly made works of such kind of Panosyan with co-workers has led to a negative result. Instead of prostaglandin F_2α, screening of which was made by TLC, they have found in Brionia alba a number of trihydroxyacids, probably the products of linolenate hydroperoxides rearrangements. Successful screening of prostaglandins E and F in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana and Larix sibirica was described by Yanistyn and Levin |2, 3|. However, these works are characterized by deficiency of data confirming the identification of purified compounds. Prostaglandin A₁ was found in the Allium cepa bulbs |4|. However, it was recently shown that prostaglandin-like activity, present in bulbs, belongs to trihydroxyoctadecenoic acids |5|. Today the occurence of prostaglandins among plants has been clearly established only for red alga Gracilaria lichenoides |6|.