Strictosidine is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of the terpenoid indole alkaloid (TIA) pathway. It results from a condensation reaction, catalyzed by strictosidine synthase (STR), between tryptamine and secologanin. We have now developed a useful method, based on enzyme-assisted synthesis, to produce strictosidine. Our procedure utilizes leaf extracts from Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica Thunb. as a secologanin source. In these experiments, an enzyme extract was prepared from transgenic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that expresses the Catharanthus roseus STR (CrSTR) coding region. Strictosidine was then isolated with a 38% yield based on the initial amount of tryptamine in the enzymatic reaction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.