Structural Classification Insights Into the Plant Defensive Peptides.

This study presents a structural phylogenetic analysis of plant defensive peptides, revealing their evolutionary relationships, structural diversification, and functional adaptations. Utilizing a robust dataset comprising both experimental and predicted structures sourced from the RCSB Protein Data Bank and AlphaFold DB, we constructed a detailed phylogenetic tree to elucidate the distinct evolutionary paths of plant defensive peptide families. Our findings showcase the evolutionary intricacies of defensive peptides, highlighting their diversity and the conservation of key structural motifs critical to their antimicrobial or defensive functions. The results also underscore the adaptive significance of defensive peptides in plant evolution, highlighting their roles in responding to ecological pressures and pathogen interactions.

Xanthorrhizol contents, α-glucosidase inhibition, and cytotoxic activities in ethyl acetate fraction of Curcuma zanthorrhiza accessions from Indonesia

ABSTRACT Curcuma zanthorrhiza Roxb., Zingiberaceae, a species from Indonesia with xanthorrhizol as the major metabolite, has been used as a folk medicine in several of pharmacological activities. This work aimed to evaluate the xanthorrhizol contents, α-glucosidase inhibition, and cytotoxic activities in ethyl acetate fraction from accessions of C. zanthorrhiza. High-performance liquid chromatography investigated xanthorrhizol content with the standard. Pharmacological activities were evaluated by inhibition of α-glucosidase, the brine shrimp lethality test, and anticancer activity. The ethyl acetate fraction yield varied from 8.24% (Karanganyar) to 13.13% (Sukabumi). The xanthorrhizol contents were found to be in the range 43.55% to 47.99% with Ngawi and Wonogiri promising accessions having the lowest and highest value, respectively. IC50 value for α-glucosidase inhibition ranged from 339.05 µg/ml (Karanganyar) to 455.01 µg/ml (Ngawi). LC50 value for cytotoxic activities ranged from 33.25 µg/ml (Ngawi) to 42.28 µg/ml (Karanganyar) in brine shrimp lethality test, 3.10 µg/ml (Karanganyar) to 9.85 µg/ml (cursina-III) in Vero cell, and 1.17 µg/ml (Ngawi) to 6.83 µg/ml (Sukabumi) in MCF-7 cell. In this study, C. zanthorrhiza accessions have a high in xanthorrhizol contents and cytotoxic activities that showed a high potential of studied accessions for breeding programs on a commercial scale.