Anti-cancer compound in the American mayapple

A common weed called mayapple U.S. may soon be an alternative to offer Asian cousin who was captured near extinction because of its anti-cancer properties have. The Asian plant near extinction produces Podophyllyum emodi used podophyllotoxin, a compound etoposide, manufacturing, medicine used in medicine to treat lung cancer and testicular cancer. Podophyllyum emodi is a cousin of the common weed found mayapple the United States. Podophyllotoxin is located in the Indian mayapple (mayapple emodii Wall.), American mayapple (mayapple peltatum L.), and other species. Podophyllotoxin and its derivatives are used in many medicines available commercially such as the anticancer drugs etoposide, teniposide, and etopophos used in the treatment of lung cancer small cell lymphocytic leukemia, testicular cancer and brain tumors. Podophyllotixin derivatives are also used to treat psoriasis and malaria, and some will be tested for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Podophyllotoxin is currently commercially produced roots and rhizomes of the Indian mayapple harvested endangered in the wild in India, Pakistan, Nepal and China.

Researchers at Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi, recently identified types of American mayapple with high podophyllotoxin content. Colleagues Valtcho D. and Zheljazkov at Mississippi State University have published research findings in HortScience. After Zheljazkov: "The purpose of this study is to assess the concentration of podophyllotoxin mayapple Americans in their natural habitat in the eastern United States and raised podophyllotoxin types that could be used to identify for the selection and development cultivars. "

Mayapple has long been a cash crop grown in Europe and Russia, but has never been implemented or are in the domestic United States, although the idea of researchers has been established over 30 years proposed. Previous studies have shown that the leaves contain podophyllotoxin mayapple U.S., track the development of American mayapple such as high-value crops for U.S. farmers. Zheljazkov said that so far no comprehensive study of the genetic resources of mayapple American colonies in the United States. "We hypothesized that it could produce large differences in the content podophyllotoxin mayapple in U.S. Eastern U.S..

The researchers examined the effect of the location, nutrient phytoavailable plant and soil nutrients on podophyllotoxin mayapple concentration in the U.S. in their natural habitat in the eastern United States. The study was the largest of its kind ever to be performed; mayapple leaves 37 American colonies mayapple collected in 18 states.

This landmark study confirms that mayapple colonies in the eastern United States for the development of high podophyllotoxin varieties can be used, which could eventually form the basis for commercial production of podophyllotoxin in the United States. The results of this study is to develop a geographic information system (GIS), map the genetic resources of the American mayapple U.S