ArticleJournal of chemical ecology2019
Specific Distribution of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Floral Parts of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) and its Implications for Flower Ecology.
Article in Journal of chemical ecology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Organ-Specific Phytochemical Profiles, Wound-Healing and Hemostatic Activities ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Roots of Indian heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum) produce simple pyrrolizidine alkaloids using the same homospermidine oxidase involved in biosynthesis of complex pyrrolizidine alkaloids in aerial parts.Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) · 2025Article
- Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Monofloral and Multifloral Italian Honey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Diverse organ-specific localisation of a chemical defence, cyanogenic glycosides, in flowers of eleven species of Proteaceae.PloS one · 2023Article
- Anti-inflammatory Properties of the GenusIranian journal of pharmaceutical research : IJPR · 2022Review
- Insights into polyamine metabolism: homospermidine is double-oxidized in two discrete steps by a single copper-containing amine oxidase in pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis.The Plant cell · 2022Article
- Poison or Potion: Effects of Sunflower Phenolamides on Bumble Bees and Their Gut Parasite.Biology · 2022Article
- Flowers prepare thyselves: leaf and root herbivores induce specific changes in floral phytochemistry with consequences for plant interactions with florivores.The New phytologist · 2022Article
- Comfrey (Symphytum spp.) as a feed supplement in pig nutrition contributes to regional resource cycles.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Metabolic Toxification of 1,2-Unsaturated Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids Causes Human Hepatic Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome: The Update.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing in Comfrey (Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a typical class of plant secondary metabolites that are constitutively produced as part of the plant's chemical defense. While roots are a well-established site of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, comfrey plants (Symphytum officinale; Boraginaceae) have been shown to additionally activate alkaloid production in specialized leaves and accumulate PAs in flowers during a short developmental stage in inflorescence development. To gain a better understanding of the accumulation and role of PAs in comfrey flowers and fruits, we have dissected and analyzed their tissues for PA content and patterns. PAs are almost exclusively accumulated in the ovaries, while petals, sepals, and pollen hardly contain PAs. High levels of PAs are detectable in the fruit, but the elaiosome was shown to be PA free. The absence of 7-acetyllycopsamine in floral parts while present in leaves and roots suggests that the additional site of PA biosynthesis provides the pool of PAs for translocation to floral structures. Our data suggest that PA accumulation has to be understood as a highly dynamic system resulting from a combination of efficient transport and additional sites of synthesis that are only temporarily active. Our findings are further discussed in the context of the ecological roles of PAs in comfrey flowers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.