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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Insect Control and Cotton Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319524
Title: Gossypolone and Gossypolhemiquinone: Biological activity of terpenoids found in cotton (Gossypium)

Author
item Stipanovic, Robert - Bob
item Puckhaber, Lorraine
item Frelichowski, James - Jim
item Esquivel, Jesus
item Westbrook, John
item O Neil, Thomas - Mike
item Bell, Alois - Al
item Dowd, Michael
item Duke, Sara

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2015
Publication Date: 8/14/2015
Citation: Stipanovic, R.D., Puckhaber, L.S., Frelichowski, J.E., Esquivel, J.F., Westbrook, J.K., O Neil, T.M., Bell, A.A., Dowd, M.K., Duke, S.E. 2015. Gossypolone and gossypolhemiquinone: Biological activity of terpenoids found in cotton (Gossypium). [abstract]. American Chemical Society Abstracts. A#ORGN 504.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The wild cotton plant, Gossypium thurberi grows in the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico and southern Arizona, and is attacked by few herbivorous insects (Korban, 1999). In general, members of Gossypium produce a rich assortment of sesquiterpenoid and sesterterpenoids in the subepidermal pigment glands of their leaves. These terpenoids protect the plant from insect herbivores. We reasoned that new terpenoids might be present in G. thurberi, thereby limiting the number of insect herbivores. Indeed, HPLC/MS analysis of leaf extracts indicated two compounds with molecular weights (MW m/z 532 and m/z 546) close to that of gossypol (m/z 518); the latter is the most thoroughly studied terpenoid found in Gossypium. The unique compounds were found to be gossypolone (GQ) and gossypolhemiquinone (GHQ). The identification of GHQ and its biological activity is reported herein.