• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1897-1906
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• 2017

Swainsonine (SW) is the principal toxic ingredient of locoweed plants that causes locoism characterized by a disorder of the nervous system. It has also received widespread attention in the medical field for its beneficial anticancer and antitumor activities. Endophytic fungi, Alternaria sect. Undifilum oxytropis isolated from locoweeds, the plant pathogen Slafractonia leguminicola, and the insect pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae, produce swainsonine. Acquired SW by biofermentation has a certain foreground and research value. This paper mainly summarizes the local and foreign literature published thus far on the swainsonine biosynthesis pathway, and speculates on the possible regulatory enzymes involved in the synthesis pathway within these three fungi in order to provide a new reference for research on swainsonine biosynthesis by endophytic fungi.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.167-168
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• 1998

Swainsonine is a toxic indolizidine alkaloid found in the plant, Swainsona species (Dorling, 1978; Colgate, 1979). It is a potent inhibitor of the glycoprotein processing pathway in the Golgi apparatus. Specifically, it inhibits mannosicase II resulting in abherrant high mannose glycans. Recent studies showed that swainsonine prevents metastasis of tumor cells and it inhibits solid growth tumor, at least partially (Goss et al., 1994; Baptista et al, 1994).

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.545-549
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• 1997

Effects of swainsonine (SW;8${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$-indolizidine-${\alpha}$, $2{\alpha}$8-triol from Locoweed) on the humoral immune responses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) wer studied in ICR mice. Mice were divided into 4 groups (10 mice/group), and LPS was given to each mouse 1 hr after i.p. injection with 3.7 mg/kg of swainsonine, by i.p. injection twice a week for 14 days at a dose of 2 mg/kg. Humoral immune responses were evaluated by hemagglutination (HA) titer and splenic plaque forming cells (PFC). The results of this study were summarized as follows: Mice administrated each of LPS and SW showed significant enhancement of the weight ratios of spleen to body, HA titer, 2-mercaptoethanol-resistant HA(MER-HA) titer and PFC compared with those in controls. However, the LPS plus SW treatment decreased HA titer, MER-HA titer and PFC corresponding to humoral immunity, as compared with those in the mice treated with LPS alone. These findings indicated that LPS significantly enhanced humoral immune responses, but their enhancement effects were lowered somewhat by SW.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 1998

Effects of swainsonine (SW: 8${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$-indolizidine-1alpha, 2${\alpha}$, 8${\beta}$-triol from Locoweed) on the cellular and nonspecific immune responses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) wer e studied in ICR mice. Mice were divided into 4 groups (10mice/group), and LPS was given to each mouse 1 hr after i.p. injection with 3.7mg/kg of SW by i.p. injection twice a week for 14 days at a dose of 2mg/kg. Immune responses of the delayed-type hypersensitivity response (DTH) to sheep red blood cells (s-RBC), phagocytic activity and natural killer (NK) cell activity were evaluated. LPS treatment didn`t affect NK cell activity, phagocytic activity, DTH to s-RBC compared with those in controls, and phagocytic activity of sareoma 180 tumor bearing mice. However, circulating leukocytes were significantly decreased. Combinaton of LPS and SW increased circulating leukocytes significantly compared vath that in LPS alone, and DTH to s-RBC, NK cell activity and phagocytic activities of normal and sarcoma tumor bearing mice were not affected. These findings indicate that SW didn`t affected the cellular immune responses suppressed by LPS but significantly increased circulating leukocytes.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.346-350
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• 1997

The synthesis of cis- and trans-1,6-dihydroxypyrrolizidine starting from trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors are reported. The cis-isomer was found to be a potent inhibitor against .alpha.-glucosidase and showed weak inhibitory effect against other glycosidases. The trans-isomer exhibited weak inhibitions of b-glucosidase and amylo-glucosidase and poor inhibition of other glycosidases.