Abstract Title

Aerial Versus Below-Ground Alkaloid Content Variation from Veratrum californicum as a Function of Plant Growth Cycle and Harvest Site

Abstract

Veratrum californicum is a plant found in the western United States that contains steroidal alkaloids, most notably cyclopamine, which inhibit the hedgehog pathway (Hh). Hh is active in healthy embryonic development and overexpressed in some types of cancer such as basal cell carcinoma. Already the molecular scaffold of cyclopamine has been used for the development of skin cancer chemotherapeutics including vismodegib and IPI-926. Research on aerial alkaloid content and corresponding bioactivity has not been performed by modern methods. We hypothesize that cyclopamine works synergistically with other alkaloids in aerial plant to inhibit the Hh signaling. The goal of this project is to determine the variation in the relative alkaloid content in aerial V. californicum over the course of its growth cycle. The alkaloids will be extracted by soaking ground biomass in ethanol, and they will be purified by column chromatography. The isolated alkaloids will be identified by HPLC and evaluated for bioactivity.

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Poster #Th65

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Aerial Versus Below-Ground Alkaloid Content Variation from Veratrum californicum as a Function of Plant Growth Cycle and Harvest Site

Veratrum californicum is a plant found in the western United States that contains steroidal alkaloids, most notably cyclopamine, which inhibit the hedgehog pathway (Hh). Hh is active in healthy embryonic development and overexpressed in some types of cancer such as basal cell carcinoma. Already the molecular scaffold of cyclopamine has been used for the development of skin cancer chemotherapeutics including vismodegib and IPI-926. Research on aerial alkaloid content and corresponding bioactivity has not been performed by modern methods. We hypothesize that cyclopamine works synergistically with other alkaloids in aerial plant to inhibit the Hh signaling. The goal of this project is to determine the variation in the relative alkaloid content in aerial V. californicum over the course of its growth cycle. The alkaloids will be extracted by soaking ground biomass in ethanol, and they will be purified by column chromatography. The isolated alkaloids will be identified by HPLC and evaluated for bioactivity.