CAUSES OF VARIATION IN PRODUCTION OF BIOMEDICALLY ACTIVE SECONDARY COMPOUNDS

许多种类的热带植物被发现产生生物活性 次级代谢，这可能产生有前途的治疗 治疗。 然而，在许多情况下，人们对 这些次生化合物在植物生态学中的作用 产生它们，从而产生许多潜在有用的信息 关于这些化合物的生产可能会丢失。 一个 了解这些化合物的天然功能，以及 这些生产中的变化的原因和模式 将有助于指导寻找潜在的有价值的植物 代谢物。这个项目将确定哪些种类的森林植物 在马里亚纳群岛生产生物医学活性化合物，如何 植物体内次生化合物的产生存在很大的差异 在马里亚纳群岛的热带森林中发现的， 环境压力会影响这些产品的生产， 化合物.本研究将检查变异的潜在原因， 研究内容包括：1）不同光照条件，2）不同水分条件 可用性，3）植物部分（叶，花，果实， 种子）; 4）老的和年轻的植物组织之间的差异;和5） 食草动物严重程度的差异。 将收集植物部分， 提取并鉴定了它们的次级化合物。 环境 将收集数据并与二级化合物进行比较 工厂的生产检查。 回归分析将允许 关于金属的重要性的推论 变量通过人工破坏植物，本研究将尝试 为了人工诱导次级化合物的产量增加， 将分析其药理活性。这些结果将 相比之下， 药理活性

Many speciesof tropical plants have been found to produce bioactive secondary metabolies, which may yield promising therapeutic treatments. However, in many cases very little is known about the role of these secondary compounds in the ecology of the plants producing them, and therefore much potentially useful information about the production of these compounds may be lost. An understanding of the natural functions of thee compounds, as well as the causes and patterns of vaiation in the production of these cheimcals, will help to direct the search for potentially valuable plant metabolites. This project will determine whihc species of forest plants in the Mariana Islands produce biomedically active compounds, how much variationin secondary compound production exists within plants found in the tropical forests ofthe Mariana Islands, and what sorts of environmental stresses can influence the production of these compounds. The potential causes of variation to be examined by this study are: 1) differentiallight regimes, 2) differential water availability, 3) differences among plant parts (leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds); 4) differences among old and young plant tissues; and 5) differancesin severity of herbivory. Plant parts will be collected and their secondary compounds extracted and identified. Environmental data will be gathered and compared to secondary compound production in the plants examines. Regression analysis will allow inferences to be drawn concerning the importance of environmnetal variables. Through artificial damage to plants, this study will attempt to artifically induce increased production of secondary compounds, will be analyzed for pharmacological activity. These results will be compared for evidence of stitistically significant increases in pharmacological activity.