CAUSES OF VARIATION IN PRODUCTION OF BIOMEDICALLY ACTIVE SECONDARY COMPOUNDS

许多热带植物都被发现具有生物活性。 次生代谢物，这可能产生有希望的治疗 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中的作用 生产它们，因此有很多潜在的有用信息 关于这些化合物的生产可能会丢失。一个 了解这三种化合物的天然功能，以及 在这些产品的生产中产生变化的原因和模式 Cheimcals，将有助于指导寻找潜在有价值的植物 代谢物。该项目将确定森林植物的种类。 在马里亚纳群岛产生生物医学活性化合物，如何 二次化合物生产中的许多变化存在于工厂内部 在马里亚纳群岛的热带森林中被发现，以及什么样的 环境压力会影响这些物质的生产。 化合物。潜在的变异原因将通过这个 研究内容包括：1)不同光照条件，2)不同水分 可利用性，3)植物部分(叶、花、果实、 种子)；4)老植物组织和幼树组织的差异；以及5) 食草动物的严重程度不同。植物部件将被收集并 提取并鉴定了它们的次生化合物。环境 将收集数据并与次要化合物进行比较 工厂的生产进行了检验。回归分析将允许 关于环境保护重要性的推论 变量。通过对植物的人为破坏，本研究将尝试 为了人为地诱导次级化合物的产生增加， 将被分析为药理活性。这些结果将是 相比于统计上显著增加的证据 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.