The cerebrosides

Abstract

This review covers distribution, structural determination, syntheses and biological activities of the cerebrosides reported so far. Those with absolute stereochemistry assigned are marked herein with '*'. The literature from 1969 to mid-2003 is reviewed and 189 references cited.

Cerebrosides from the Roots of Serratula chinensis

“…Cerebrosides have a wide range of biological functions, all potentially related to the amphipathic nature of the molecule [13]. The broad bioactivity spectrum of cerebrosides suggests the further potential utilization of S. chinensis roots as a valuable crude drug.…”

“…The IR spectra were taken in KBr on a WQF-410 FT-IR spectrophotometer. The 1 H-NMR (400 MHz), 13 C-NMR (100 MHz), and 2D-NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker DRX-400 instrument. Chemical shifts were expressed in ppm (δ) with TMS as an internal standard.…”

Characterization and direct quantitation of cerebroside molecular species from lipid extracts by shotgun lipidomics

“…Cerebrosides mediate diverse biological processes, among them the regulation of cell growth, protein trafficking and sorting, modulation of cell adhesion, formation and stabilization of axonal branches, and cell morphogenesis (see 2, 3 for recent reviews). In mammals, galactose and glucose are the main hexoses in cerebrosides, called galactocerebroside or galactosylceramide (GalCer) and glucocerebroside or glucosylceramide (GlcCer), respectively (4,5).…”

Sphingolipids from the edible fungus Tuber indicum

“…Fungi contain two types of sphingolipids: glycosylceramides with mainly glucose or galactose moieties, and glycosyl inositol phosphoryl ceramides with mannosyl residues [2,3]. Cerebrosides, chemically belonging to the first group of glycosphingolipids, are composed of a hexose and a ceramide moiety usually consisting of a long-chain aminoalcohol named sphingoid base and a long-chain fatty acid.…”

“…Sphingolipids in brain were first characterized by Thudichum early in 1874 [1]; the discovery of more cerebrosides has been reported to date from a wide variety of organisms [2][3][4]. Fungi contain two types of sphingolipids: glycosylceramides with mainly glucose or galactose moieties, and glycosyl inositol phosphoryl ceramides with mannosyl residues [2,3].…”