Components of cottonplant leaves, their functional role and biological activity

Abstract

This review generalizes information on the composition of the components of cottonplant leaves : hydrocarbons, organic, amino, and hydroxy acids, alcohols, triterpenes, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, sugars, pectin substances, polyisoprenoids, diols, tocopherols, sterol esters, and others. Their role in the growth and development of the plant and their biological properties are discussed.The cotton plant (Gossypium L., Malvaceae), growing in tropical and and subtropical regions of Asia, America, Australia, and Africa, is represented by 35 species. One of the four cultivated species --G. hirsutum --grows in the republics of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaidzhan, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, and other main cotton-planting countries.A many-sided chemical study of the vegetative and generative organs of the cotton plant has permitted A. S. Sadykov and his students to isolate more than 100 compounds of various classes [1][2][3]. Cottonplant leaves (CLs) are the least used organ of the plant, although they make up 22 % of the total mass of the epigeal part. Both pinched-out CLs and those gathered at the end of vegetation can be used as sources of various biologically active compounds [3]. They contain a broad set of compounds, from extremely simple to complex. Six individual saturated hydrocarbons have been isolated from the CLs and other vegetative organs and identified: tetracosane, hexacosane, octacosane, triacontane, dotriacontane, and hexatriacontane [4,5]. The hydrocarbon composition of CLs has been characterized in [6,7].In addition to hydrocarbons, such high-molecular-mass alcohols as decan-l-ol, hexadecan-l-ol, heptadecan-l-ol, octadecan-l-ol, octacosan-l-ol, triacontan-l-ol, and dotriacontan-l-ol have been identified in CLs [2,4,5,7].The acid composition of CLs has been investigated in most detail. It comprises 17 [sic] organic acids [1,2,8,9]: cis-aconitic. The dynamics of the seasonal changes of such organic acids as oxalic, malic, citric, acetic, and others, have been studied. Their qualitative composition and quantitative ratio differ from variety to variety (108-F, 137-F, 2 and 3, 10964, 1306-DV) and also depend on the level at which the leaves are growing and on the vegetation period. The maximum level of organic acids is found at the end of the vegetation period, when the leaves are no longer necessary for the plant. CLs are rich in vitamins: ascorbic and nicotinic acids, riboflavin, inositol, vitamin P, and, particularly, provitamin A --carotene [2,3]. With respect to their ascorbic acid content they approximate to tomatoes, and the ascorbic acid is present both in free and bound form. Its level scarcely changes in vegetating leaves, but falls sharply when the leaves wither, which shows its participation in photosynthesis [8]. In their citric acid content (7.5%), CLs are not inferior to lemons, pomegranates, and makhorka [3], while their level of malic acid is surpassed only by barberries and rowan berries [3] Up to the middle 1960s there was no information in the literature characterizing the fatty ...

A systematic comparison of triterpenoid biosynthetic enzymes for the production of oleanolic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…GhBAS from Gossypium hirsutum (cotton), CYP716A48 from Olea europaea (olive) and CYP716A147 from Theobroma cacao (cocoa tree) were selected for further analysis (S1 Table). While G. hirsutum and T. cacao produce triterpenoids [14,15], genes encoding oleanane biosynthetic enzymes have not been previously characterised. Similarly, O. europaea accumulates oleanolic acid [1], but a P450 involved in its biosynthesis has not yet been described.…”

Biological Importance of Cotton By-Products Relative to Chemical Constituents of the Cotton Plant

“…There are no reports of diterpenes, tetraterpenes, and polyterpenes in cotton plants, however, two triterpene derivatives, β-sitosterol and β-amyrin montanate ( Figure 8 ), were reported to occur in cotton leaves by Shakhidoyatov et al [ 18 ]. Triterpenes are generally made of six (6) isoprene units and contain 30 carbon atoms with a molecular formula of C 30 H 48 .…”

“…Saturated fatty acids which occur in the cotton plant include myristic acid (tetradecanoic acid), melissic acid (triacontanoic acid), palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid), stearic acid (octadecanoic acid), and palmitoleic acid (9-hexadecanoic acid) [ 18 , 19 , 151 ]. Unsaturated fatty acids identified in cotton include eicosadienoic acid, linoleic acid (octadecadienoic acid), linolenic (octadecatrienoic acid), and elaidic acid (octadecenoic acid) [ 18 , 19 ]. Most fatty acids identified in cotton are free fatty acids (not linked to any molecules) and play functional roles as a source of energy for plant growth [ 19 ].…”

“…The entire cotton plant has the potential to be a source of valuable compounds, such as terpenes, phenolics, fatty acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. These compounds, which are distributed in seeds, bolls, calyx, leaves, stalks, stems, and roots of the plant [ 20 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] play functional biological roles in humans and animals [ 21 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”