Targeted Metabolite Analysis and Biological Activity of Pieris brassicae Fed with Brassica rapa var. rapa

Abstract

For the first time, an insect-plant system, Pieris brassicae fed with Brassica rapa var. rapa, was tested for its biological capacity, namely, antioxidant (DPPH*, *NO, and O(2)*- radicals) and antimicrobial (bacteria and fungi) activities. Samples from the insect's life cycle (larvae, excrements, exuviae, and butterfly) were always found to be more efficient than the host plant. Also, P. brassicae materials, as well as its host plant, were screened for phenolics and organic acids. The host plant revealed higher amounts of both compounds. Two phenolic acids, ferulic and sinapic, as well as kaempferol 3-Osophoroside, were common to insect (larvae and excrements) and plant materials, with excrements being considerably richer. Detection of sulfated compounds in excrements, absent in host plant, revealed that metabolic processes in this species involved sulfation. Additionally, deacylation and deglycosilation were observed. All matrices presented the same organic acids qualitative profile, with the exception of excrements.

Kale Extract Increases Glutathione Levels in V79 Cells, but Does not Protect Them against Acute Toxicity Induced by Hydrogen Peroxide

“…Another field of growing interest concerns the potential application of herbivores, that otherwise are considered plagues, as sources of bioactive compounds produced by their host plants. The ability of P. brassicae larvae to accumulate, metabolize and excrete phenolic compounds has been thoroughly studied by our group [6,8,9,10,11,12]. The phenolic composition of kale and P. brassicae materials methanolic extracts and their antioxidant potential against acute oxidative stress in a cellular model were now studied.…”

“…Our group described the role of phenolic compounds in the modulation of the feeding behavior of herbivore organisms, such as Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a common pest of Brassica cultures. This insect revealed ability to sequester, metabolize and excrete phenolics obtained from distinct host plants [6,8,9,10,11,12]. Furthermore, the extracts of P. brassicae materials (butterfly, larvae and its excrements) reared on kale proved to have a better antioxidant potential than host plant, depending on the radical species, in cell free systems [6].…”

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Ergosta-7,22-dien-3-ol from Marthasterias glacialis: Prevention of CHOP-Mediated ER-Stress and NF-κB Activation

“…The ability of the extract to scavenge nitric oxide radical generated in a cell-free system was evaluated according to the method previously described [10]. A dilution series (five different concentrations of extract) was prepared in a 96-well plate.…”

New Rare Sinapoyl Acylated Flavonoid Glycosides Obtained from the Seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd

“…As results, seven new sinapoyl acylated flavonoid glycosides were obtained from L. apetalum seeds. Although various acylated flavonol glycosides distribute widely in the plant kingdom, sinapoylates such as the flavonoid glycosides reported in this paper are quite rare, which were found only in 21 species from eight family plants, including Cruciferae [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13], Leguminosae [14,15], Apocynaceae [16], Solanaceae [17], Elaeagnaceae [18,19], Rubiaceae [20,21], Ranunculaceae [22], and Moraceae [23] until now. And almost of them were obtained from the Cruciferae family, which includes L. apetalum researched by our lab.…”