Phyllobilins as a challenging diverse natural product class: Exploration of pharmacological activities

Abstract

Phyllobilins are a group of chlorophyll‐derived bilin‐type linear tetrapyrroles, generated in the process of chlorophyll breakdown. Since the first phyllobilin was isolated and characterized in 1991, more and more structures of these chlorophyll catabolites were identified alongside the biochemical players involved in chlorophyll breakdown. In the meantime, phyllobilins are known to occur in a large natural structural variety, and new modifications are still being discovered. Phyllobilins have been regarded as products of chlorophyll detoxification for a very long time, hence they have been completely overlooked as a natural product class in terms of their biological role or pharmacological activity. A change of this paradigm, however, is long overdue. Here, we review the current knowledge of the pharmacological activities of phyllobilins and give an overview of the diverse structural modifications, laying the groundwork for analyzing their role(s) as active components in medicinal plants.

Pyrrole as an Important Scaffold of Anticancer Drugs: Recent Advances

“…Recent studies reported by Konícková et al have evaluated the possible anticancer effects of Spirulina platensis and Spirulina platensis-derived tetrapyrroles against pancreatic cancer cell lines (47). Furthermore, the phyllobilins are a group of chlorophyll-derived bilin-type linear tetrapyrroles with a significant potential in the anticancer treatment (48).…”

Safety and efficacy of herbal supplements used for weight loss

“…Lifestyle change represents the first strategy to counteract the problem, although sometimes a pharmacotherapeutic approach is necessary. People also recourse to herbal products ignoring the real effectiveness and underestimating their safety profile 1 . In this context, the present work aimed at critically evaluating the efficacy and potential risk associated with weight loss botanicals.…”

“…A careful evaluation of the risk/benefits profile of these supplements is necessary also considering they are often used as self-medication. References [1] Phyllobilins are a group of plant-derived bilin-type linear tetrapyrroles, which are generated in the process of chlorophyll degradation. Despite the visibility this biochemical pathway, the as well as the biochemical players involved have remained undetected for a very long time.…”

“…Therefore, they have been overlooked as natural product class in terms of a biological role or pharmacological activity of their own. [1] A change of this paradigm, however, is long overdue.…”

Side‐chain modifications of phyllobilins may not be essential for chlorophyll degradation in Arabidopsis

“…Some gymnosperms and ferns like Pteridium aquilinum accumulate iso‐phyllobilanones, which present a major carbon‐skeleton rearrangement (Erhart et al, 2018; Schumacher et al, 2021). Given some phyllobilins are also bioactive compounds with antioxidative and anti‐inflammatory compounds (Wang et al, 2021), understanding the molecular basis of their synthesis and accumulation could bring interesting insight outside plant sciences toward potential pharmacological applications.…”