Enzymatic Formation of Raucaffricine, the Major Indole Alkaloid ofRauwolfia serpentinaCell-Suspension Cultures

The major alkaloid from Rauwolfia serpentina cell-suspension cultures, the glucoalkaloid raucaffricine (2), was enzymatically formed from vomilenine (1) and UDPG in presence of microsomal-bound enzyme. This glucosyltransferase exhibits a relatively high substrate specificity with strong preference for 1 and UDPG. The apparent Km values for 1 and UDPG were 40 μM and 0.8 mM, respectively, for raucaffricine formation. Optimum transferase activity was observed at 50° and pH 6.3. The taxonomic distribution of this enzyme seems to be very limited because transferase can he exclusively detected in raucaffricine-producing plant cells.

ChemInform Abstract: Enzymatic Formation of Raucaffricine, the Major Indole Alkaloid of Rauwolfia serpentina Cell-Suspension Cultures.

Investigation of the Alkaloid Content of Rauwolfia serpentina Roots from Regenerated Plants.

The indole alkaloid content of RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA roots from regenerated plants (from stem-and root-callus) was compared with the parental stock. Although the total alkaloid content seems to be slightly higher in the roots from regenerated plants, HPLC-analysis of individual alkaloids indicated that the contents of the alkaloids ajmaline ( 1), serpentine ( 2), and reserpine ( 3) are lower than in the roots of the parental stock. The glucoalkaloid raucaffricine ( 4) was identified as a constituent of all samples, thus providing the first evidence for its occurrence in roots of RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA.