No description available.

Chlorophyll and solanine syntheses as influenced by cultivars, specific gravities, light intensities, and duration of exposure to light were studied in potato (Solanum tuberosum, L.) tubers. Chemicals, gamma radiation, clear polyethylene packaging in 15 per cent co 2 , and storage at subatmospheric pressure were employed to control the formation of these two compounds. The toxicity of solanine to mice, the fungus Trichoderma viride, and cholinesterase inhibition patterns in rabbits and a dog were evaluated. The influence of the central nervous system stimulating drugs was investigated to find if they counteracted solanine toxicity. Of the 11 cultivars tested, tubers of Bounty, Kennebec, Nor chip, and Red Lasoda were most sensitive to greening and solanine development. LaChipper and Platte tubers were least susceptible to greening and their solanine contents were minimum. The significant differences in chlorophyll and solanine formation among cultivars showed that greening potential is a cultivar characteristic. xi Chlorophyll development in tubers was inversely related to their specific gravity. Solanine synthesis was, however, not dependent on specific gravity. Studies on effect of four light intensities on Kennebec potato tubers that were stored for nearly 6 months showed that more chlorophyll formed at 100 and 150 ft-c than at 50 and 200 ft-c light intensities. Generally, chlorophyll formation increased with increased light intensity up to 100 ft-c, slowly and steadily declined up to 150 ft-c, and sharply declined at 200 ft-c. There were no significant differences in the solanine contents of the tubers after exposure to these light intensities. The duration of exposure of the tubers to 100 ft-c revealed that solanine and chlorophyll contents increased linearly with the duration of exposure up to the sixth and tenth day, respectively. There was no difference in the amount of chlorophyll formed at the end of the tenth and fifteenth day. The solanine contents were rather constant from the sixth to the tenth day and then slightly declined at the end of the fifteenth day. The respiration of the tubers did not seem to have an apparent relationship to solanine and chlorophyll formation. Investigation on the control of greening showed that two chemicals, Ethrel (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) and Alar (succinamic acid, 2, 2-dimethylhydrazide) when applied at 10, 000 ppm by vacuum injection technique, were significantly effective in inhibiting chlorophyll and solanine syntheses. Ethrel was most effective in controlling the chlorophyll formation and the least solanine xii was formed after the Alar treatment. The dose of 10 krads of gamma radiation inhibited 80 per cent, while polyethylene packaging with 15 per cent co 2 , only 32 per cent of chlorophyll synthesis. Storage of tubers at subatmospheric pressure of 126 mm-Hg resulted in complete inhibition of chlorophyll formation. The irradiation, co 2 environment either alone or in combination, and subatmospheric pressure treatments did not affect solanine synthesis. Solanine was toxic to mice, rabbits, a dog, and the fungus Trichoderma viride. The LD 50 for intraperitoneal (ip) administration, single dose, in mice was 32. 3 mg of solanine per Kg body weight, the 19/20 confidence limits being 27. 6 - 37. 9 mg. Plasma and erythrocytic cholinesterase inhibition in rabbits indicated that solanine was a weak to moderate inhibitor of both specific and nonspecific cholinesterase. There was less inhibition of erythrocytic cholinesterase than that of plasma in vivo. In an anesthetized dog, cumulative doses of solanine showed a quick inhibition of cholinesterase but rapid recovery · was noted in the case of serum enzyme, while there was no inhibition of the red cell enzyme. A prior intraperitoneal dose of 2 mg/Kg of atropine sulfate lowered the mortality after ip injection into mice at 40 mg/Kg of solanine from 9/10 to 5/10. Similar application of pargyline (5 mg/Kg ip) and amphetamine (5 mg/Kg ip) had no effect on mortality from solanine. Atropine influence appeared antagonistic and counteracted solanine toxicity. The concentration of 10 mg of solanine per 100 ml of potato-dextroseagar medium had no effect on the Trichoderma viride fungus growth, while at a concentration of 200 mg, the growth ceased. The (Lethal Concentration) Lc 50 was 102. 2 mg/100 ml, and 19/20 confidence limits being 83. 85 - 124. 6 mg.

Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are secondary metabolites produced by approximately 350 species in the Solanaceae family. SGAs are reported to be important for pest resistance and flavor enhancement at low concentrations but are toxic to humans and other mammals at high concentrations. Studies on sterol / SGA biosynthesis have implicated squalene synthase as a key regulatory enzyme because it catalyzes an irreversible step from the mevalonic acid pathway. However, the regulatory mechanisms of squalene synthase are not yet known. A study was conducted to elucidate the distribution pattern of SGAs and to clone the squalene synthase gene in order to determine a relationship between SGAs and gene expression levels. Solanum chacoense, a wild potato species was used as a model plant from which tissues were harvested at specified developmental stages and analyzed for SGA content. The results from the SGA analysis suggest a qualitative and quantitative tissue- and age-dependent accumulation of SGAs. Regenerative tissues such as, axiliary shoots, flowers and floral buds had the highest levels of 88, 49 and 63 µmole/g DW, respectively. The roots, stems and tubers showed the lowest amounts of SGAs of 1 to 8, 5 to 15 and 7 to 15 µmole/g DW, respectively. Stolons and tubers accumulated higher amounts of α-chaconine (59 to 67%) than α-solanine (61 to 64%) at all developmental stages analyzed. On the other hand, in young expanding, fully expanded, and old senescing leaves where leptine and leptinines tend to dominate, α-solanine and α-chaconine together accounted for only 8 to 15%, 7 to 15%, and 8 to 45%, respectively. Plant organs that showed the highest biosynthetic activity for SGA production also had high levels of transcripts coding for genes of isoprenoid biosynthesis. The results from the cloning and characterization of squalene synthase suggest that the cloned cDNA fragment is a putative S. chacoense squalene synthase gene with an open reading frame / predicted protein precursor of 411 amino acids. The cloned cDNA has high similarity (68-100%) to known plant squalene synthase genes and contains six deduced peptide domains observed in other species. The 3â untranslated regions of floral buds, young leaves (early vegetative stage), and fully expanded leaves (anthesis) were different in length with, 249, 335, and 202 nucleotides, respectively. The Southern blot analysis suggests a single copy gene although the existence of a gene family cannot be ruled out. / Ph. D.

La pomme de terre produit des glycoalcaloïdes comme la plupart des Solanacées. Deux composés, en particulier, l’α-solanine et l’α-chaconine, sont produits en plus grande quantité lorsque le tubercule est exposé à la lumière et subit des dégradations. Ces molécules sont toxiques et peuvent représenter un danger pour le consommateur et des nuisances pour l’environnement. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, les teneurs en α-solanine et α-chaconine dans la chaire de pomme de terre verdie, en germination ou en décomposition retrouvées sur les marchés d’Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) ont été analysées. Les résultats ont montré que la chaire de ces pommes de terre contient des quantités élevées de ces deux composés, dépassant 2 à 5 fois la limite recommandée. Pour des raisons de sécurité sanitaire, ces pommes de terre doivent être proscrites de l’alimentation humaine. En revanche, la teneur élevée en glycoalcaloïdes dans ces pommes de terre représente une source de solanidine, un précurseur pour la synthèse d'hormones et de composés pharmacologiquement actifs, qui mérite d’être exploitée. Dans cet objectif, nous avons développé une méthode chimio-enzymatique simple, comprenant un traitement acide partiel suivi d’une hydrolyse enzymatique par la β-glycosidase de la blatte Periplaneta americana dont le gène a été isolé à partir d’une librairie génomique de cDNA afin de détoxifier ces composés et produire la solanidine. / Potato produce glycoalkaloids as most plants of Solanaceae family. The principal glycoalkaloids, α-chaconine and α-solanine are produced in greater quantities when potato tubers are exposed to light and are subject to deteriorations. These compounds are toxic and can represent a real danger for the consumer and the environment where they are discharged during their degradation. In this work, the estimation of glycoalkaloids in the flesh of different types of decayed potatoes usually found in different market places of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) was evaluated. The results showed that turned green and also sprouting or rotting potato flesh contain high amounts of toxic solanine and chaconine, exceeding by 2 to 5-fold the recommended limit. For safety consideration, these decayed potatoes should be systematically set aside. The accumulation of α-chaconine and solanine in potatoes can be seen as an attractive source of solanidine that is an important precursor for hormone synthesis and some pharmacologically active compounds. To this end, we proposed herein a simple chemo-enzymatic protocol comprising a partial acidic hydrolysis followed by an enzymatic treatment with the β-glycosidase from Periplaneta americana whose gene was isolated from a cDNA genomic library in order to detoxify these compounds and produce solanidine.

No description available.