Tag: Farnesol
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Farnesol and Farnesene
Farnesol is a natural 15-carbon organic compound which is an acyclic sesquiterpene alcohol. Under standard conditions, it is a colorless liquid. It is hydrophobic, and thus insoluble in water, but miscible with oils. Farnesol is produced from 5-carbon isoprene compounds in both plants and animals. Phosphate-activated derivatives of farnesol are the building blocks of possibly all acyclic sesquiterpenoids. These compounds are doubled to…
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Temporins and Musth or must
Temporins are a family of peptides isolated originally from the skin secretion of the European red frog, Rana temporaria. Peptides belonging to the temporin family have been isolated also from closely related North American frogs, such as Rana sphenocephala. In elephants, temporin is secreted by temporal glands during the period of musth. It contains proteins, lipids (notably cholesterol), phenols, cresols and sesquiterpenes (notably farnesol and its derivatives). This is not related to temporins that are antimicrobial peptides. In old Sanskrit…
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Bile acid receptor (BAR) aka farnesoid X receptor (FXR) or NR1H4
The bile acid receptor (BAR), also known as farnesoid X receptor (FXR) or NR1H4 (nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group H, member 4), is a nuclear receptor that is encoded by the NR1H4 gene in humans. Function FXR is expressed at high levels in the liver and intestine. Chenodeoxycholic acid and other bile acids are natural ligands for FXR. Similar to other nuclear receptors, when activated, FXR translocates to the cell nucleus, forms…
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Chrysolina beetles, including Chrysolina coerulans, have cardiac glycosides (including xylose) in their defensive glands
The defensive secretions of some chrysomelid beetles belonging to the genera Chrysolina, Chrysochloa, and Dlochrysa contain complex mixtures of cardenolides. The spectral data for some of these compounds suggest that they are monohydroxylated digitoxigenin derivatives linked to a pentose (such as xylose or arabinose). Evidence indicates that the beetles do not sequester these steroid glycosides…
