Elderberries: A Source of Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins with Lectin Activity

Molecules

Jesús Tejero¹  Pilar Jiménez¹  Emiliano J. Quinto¹  Damián Cordoba-Diaz³  Manuel Garrosa²  Manuel Cordoba-Diaz³  Manuel J. Gayoso²  Tomás Girbés¹ 

[1] Nutrición y Bromatología, Facultad de Medicina and Centro de Investigación en Nutrición, Alimentación y Dietética (CINAD), Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid 47005, Spain; E-Mails:;Biología Celular, Histología y Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina and Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León (INCYL), Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid 47005, Spain; E-Mails:;Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia and Instituto Universitario de Farmacia Industrial (IUFI), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain; E-Mails:

关键词: Sambucus ebulus L.;    Sambucus nigra L.;    ebulin;    nigrin;    immunotoxins;    nigrin b model;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules20022364

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Sambucus (Adoxaceae) species have been used for both food and medicine purposes. Among these, Sambucus nigra L. (black elder), Sambucus ebulus L. (dwarf elder), and Sambucus sieboldiana L. are the most relevant species studied. Their use has been somewhat restricted due to the presence of bioactive proteins or/and low molecular weight compounds whose ingestion could trigger deleterious effects. Over the last few years, the chemical and pharmacological characteristics of Sambucus species have been investigated. Among the proteins present in Sambucus species both type 1, and type 2 ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs), and hololectins have been reported. The biological role played by these proteins remains unknown, although they are conjectured to be involved in defending plants against insect predators and viruses. These proteins might have an important impact on the nutritional characteristics and food safety of elderberries. Type 2 RIPs are able to interact with gut cells of insects and mammals triggering a number of specific and mostly unknown cell signals in the gut mucosa that could significantly affect animal physiology. In this paper, we describe all known RIPs that have been isolated to date from Sambucus species, and comment on their antiviral and entomotoxic effects, as well as their potential uses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.