PubMed · 12043604
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Montana. 1979. Laetrile.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12043604/
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Amygdalin, the phytochemical responsible for the characteristic bitterness of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernels, also exhibits significant bioactive properties and therapeutic potential. Genetic regulation of amygdalin content is therefore a key objective in apricot breeding programs aimed at quality improvement. In this study, we conducted quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping to uncover the genetic basis of sweet-bitter differentiation in apricot kernels. We identified a 15-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism strongly related to kernel bitterness, with marker validation achieving 100% concordance across 601 apricot germplasm accessions. Notably, this polymorphic site is located within the helix-loop-helix (HLH) domain of the basic HLH (bHLH) transcription factor PabHLH2. Protein interaction analyses revealed that the 15-bp deletion variant impaired dimerization capacity, reducing transcriptional activation of downstream targets. Using yeast one-hybrid screening and dual-luciferase reporter assays, we identified PaCYP71AN24 and PaCYP79D16 as direct transcriptional targets of PabHLH2. Functional characterization further indicated that the PabHLH2a variant (harboring the 15-bp insertion) significantly enhanced the promoter activity of these cytochrome P450 genes compared with the deletion variant. Transient overexpression and silencing experiments in apricot kernels further confirmed that the 15-bp insertion positively regulates both PaCYP71AN24/PaCYP79D16 expression and prunasin accumulation, the immediate biosynthetic precursor of amygdalin. Overall, these findings provide mechanistic insights into the allelic variation underlying kernel bitterness and delineate the molecular cascade of amygdalin biosynthesis. The identified molecular markers and functional characterization establish a basis for marker-assisted breeding of low-amygdalin apricot cultivars, supporting the dual-purpose utilization of kernels in food and pharmaceutical industries.
Salicin in the bark extract of Salix alba and amygdalin in the fruit extract of Semen armeniacae were each separated by slow rotary counter-current chromatography (SRCCC). The apparatus was equipped with a 40-L column made of 17 mm i.d. convoluted Teflon tubing. A 500g amount of crude extract containing salicin at 13.5% was separated yielding 63.5 g of salicin at 95.3% purity in 20h using methyl tert-butyl ether-l-butanol (1:3) saturated by methanol-water (1:5) as a stationary phase and methanol-water (1:5) saturated by methyl tert-butyl ether-1-butanol (1:3) as a mobile phase. A 400g amount of crude extract containing amygdalin at 55.3% was isolated to yield 221.2g of amygdalin at 94.1% purity in 19h using ethyl acetate-1-butanol (1:2) saturated by water as a stationary phase and water saturated by ethyl acetate-1-butanol (1:2) as a mobile phase. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 50 ml/min. The results show that industrial SRCCC separation of salicin and amygdalin is feasible using a larger column at a higher flow rate of the mobile phase.
Peptide T (ASTTTNYT) is a promising molecule to prevent the neuropsychometric symptoms of patients suffering AIDS and for the treatment of psoriasis. In order to fully prove its therapeutic benefits, efforts were put forward to design peptidomimetics of the peptide. In this direction, in a recent computational study the natural product amygdalin was identified as a prospective peptidomimetic of the peptide and later proved to exhibit a similar chemotactic profile to the peptide. However, the cyanide moiety of amygdalin provides to the molecule a toxic profile. The present study reports the synthesis of a set of amygdalin analogs lacking the cyanide group with improved chemotactic profiles.