Bryophytes: Liverworts, Mosses, and Hornworts: Extraction and Isolation Procedures

Abstract

There are more than 20,000 species of bryophytes in the world. Among them, almost of liverworts (Marchantiophyta) possess beautiful blue, yellow colored or colorless cellular oil bodies from which over several hundred new terpenoids, acetogenins, and aromatic compounds including flavonoids with more than 40 new carbon skeletons have been isolated. Some of the isolated compounds from liverworts show antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, allergenic contact dermatitis, cytotoxicity, insect antifeedant and mortality, antioxidant, nitric oxide (NO) production and plant growth inhibitory, neurotrophic and piscicidal activity, tublin polymerization inhibitory, muscle relaxing, and liver X-receptor (LXR)α agonist and (LXR)β antagonist activities, among others. The bio- and chemical diversity, chemical analysis of bryophytes including extraction, distillation, purification, TLC, GC and GC-MS, and HPLC analysis of oil bodies of liverworts are surveyed.

Fingerprinting of Secondary Metabolites of Liverworts: Chemosystematic Approach

“…As already mentioned, the volatile terpenoids and aromatic compounds are the most characteristic components present in liverworts. Because of this GC/MS is a method frequently used for liverwort fingerprinting (37). The chemical differences between liverworts detected by use of this method are in agreement with the molecular analysis concerning the phylogeny of the Marchantiophyta (15).…”

The Isolation, Structure Elucidation, and Bio- and Total Synthesis of Bis-bibenzyls, from Liverworts and Their Biological Activity

“…A part of the dried mass (8.00 kg) of M. polymorpha after air-dried and ground mechanically and the resulting powders was extracted with methanol for a month to give the green extract (105g), after the solvent evaporated, followed by chromatographed on silica gel using n-hexane and ethyl acetate gradient to afford each fraction, which was purified by chromatography on Sephadex LH-20, to furnish marchantin A (1) (30.2 g), B (2) (1.03g), C (3) (0.52 g) and D-G (4-7) (trace) [5]. The latter species (140 kg) was collected in Kamiyama, in the same prefecture as that mentioned above and the same treatment of the crude extract (176 g) from the powder (6.67kg) gave marchantin A (1) (79.5g), B (2) (0.89g), C (3) (1.12g), D (4) (0.35g), E (5) (8.34g), and acyclic bis-bibenzyls, paleatin A (102 ) (0.38g) and B (103) (1.09g), respectively [5].…”

Pungent and Bitter, Cytotoxic and Antiviral Terpenoids from Some Bryophytes and Inedible Fungi

“…The liverworts collected in rivers, lakes, ponds, and mountain areas were extracted with either n-hexane or diethyl ether using ultrasonic apparatus in order to obtain lipophilic substances from the oil bodies of each species. Methanol was used to obtain hydrophobic terpenoids using the same apparatus [19].…”

“…The biological characteristics of the terpenoids and aromatic compounds isolated from the liverworts in our laboratory are: 1) allergenic contact dermatitis, 2) cytotoxic, 3) antiviral, 4) antimicrobial, 5) antifungal, 6) insect antifeedant and mortality, 7) piscicidal, 8) nematocidal, 9) superoxide anion radical release inhibitory, 10) muscle relaxant and calcium inhibitory, 11) 5-lipoxygenase, calmodulin, hyaluronidase, cyclooxygenase, DNA polymerase and -glucosidase inhibitory, 12) antioxidant, 13) neurotrophic, 14) cardiotonic and vasopressin antagonist, 15) liver X-receptor (LXR) agonist and LXR  antagonist, 16) cathepsins B and L inhibitory, antithrombin, 17) farnesoid X-receptor (FXR) activation, 18) nitric oxide production inhibitory, 19) plant growth inhibitory, 20) tublin polymerization inhibitory, and 21), antiplatelet, and brine shrimp lethal activity [2][3][4]. Some liverworts produce the same female sex pheromones as those found in several brown algae [4].…”

“…All of these species produce strongly pungent 2,3-secoaromadendrane-type sesquiterpene hemiacetals, such as plagiochiline A (16), and plagiochiline I (17). Two artifacts (18,19) formed from plagiochiline A (16) during extraction with methanol of P. yokogurensis indicate the same pungency as that of plagiochiline A and I [3,4]. Polygodial and sacculatal exhibit a strong hot taste immediately when the gametophytes in which they are found are chewed, however, the hot taste of 2,3secoaromadendranes (16,17) comes about 1 to 3 min.…”