Olfactory receptor neuron profiling using sandalwood odorants. (1/10)

The mammalian olfactory system can discriminate between volatile molecules with subtle differences in their molecular structures. Efforts in synthetic chemistry have delivered a myriad of smelling compounds of different qualities as well as many molecules with very similar olfactive properties. One important class of molecules in the fragrance industry are sandalwood odorants. Sandalwood oil and four synthetic sandalwood molecules were selected to study the activation profile of endogenous olfactory receptors when exposed to compounds from the same odorant family. Dissociated rat olfactory receptor neurons were exposed to the sandalwood molecules and the receptor activation studied by monitoring fluxes in the internal calcium concentration. Olfactory receptor neurons were identified that were specifically stimulated by sandalwood compounds. These neurons expressed olfactory receptors that can discriminate between sandalwood odorants with slight differences in their molecular structures. This is the first study in which an important class of perfume compounds was analyzed for its ability to activate endogenous olfactory receptors in olfactory receptor neurons.  (+info)

Aromatic constituents from the heartwood of Santalum album L. (2/10)

A phytochemical investigation of the polar constituents in the heartwood of Indian Santalum album L. resulted in the isolation of three new neolignans (1-3) and a new aromatic ester (4), along with 14 known components. The structures of the new compounds (1-4) were established using spectroscopic methods.  (+info)

Extensive clonality and strong differentiation in the insular pacific tree Santalum insulare: implications for its conservation. (3/10)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The impact of evolutionary forces on insular systems is particularly exacerbated by the remoteness of islands, strong founder effects, small population size and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors. Patterns of molecular diversity were analysed in an island system with Santalum insulare, a sandalwood species endemic to eastern Polynesia. The aims were to evaluate clonality and to study the genetic diversity and structure of this species, in order to understand the evolutionary process and to define a conservation strategy. METHODS: Eight nuclear microsatellites were used to investigate clonality, genetic variation and structure of the French Polynesian sandalwood populations found on ten islands distributed over three archipelagos. KEY RESULTS: It was found that 58 % of the 384 trees analysed were clones. The real size of the populations is thus dramatically reduced, with sometimes only one genet producing ramets by root suckering. The diversity parameters were low for islands (n(A) = 1.5-5.0; H(E) = 0.28-0.49). No departure from Hardy-Weinberg proportion was observed except within Tahiti island, where a significant excess of homozygotes was noted in the highland population. Genetic structure was characterized by high levels of differentiation between archipelagos (27 % of the total variation) and islands (F(ST) = 0.50). The neighbour-joining tree did not discriminate the three archipelagos but separated the Society archipelago from the other two. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that clonality is a frequent phenomenon in S. insulare. The genetic diversity within populations is lower than the values assessed in species distributed on the mainland, as a consequence of insularity. But this can also be explained by the overexploitation of sandalwood. The differentiation between archipelagos and islands within archipelagos is very high because of the limited gene flow due to oceanic barriers. Delineation of evolutionary significant units and principles for population management are proposed based on this molecular analysis.  (+info)

Susceptibility of drug-resistant clinical herpes simplex virus type 1 strains to essential oils of ginger, thyme, hyssop, and sandalwood. (4/10)

Acyclovir-resistant clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were analyzed in vitro for their susceptibilities to essential oils of ginger, thyme, hyssop, and sandalwood. All essential oils exhibited high levels of virucidal activity against acyclovir-sensitive strain KOS and acyclovir-resistant HSV-1 clinical isolates and reduced plaque formation significantly.  (+info)

Synthesis and olfactory evaluation of bulky moiety-modified analogues to the sandalwood odorant Polysantol. (5/10)

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Dual activities of odorants on olfactory and nuclear hormone receptors. (6/10)

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Lignans from Santalum album and their cytotoxic activities. (7/10)

A new neolignan, (7R,8R)-5-O-demethylbilagrewin (1), together with four known lignans (2-5), were isolated from the heartwood of Santalum album (Santalaceae). The structure of 1 was determined by analysis of extensive spectroscopic data. The isolated compounds and derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells and A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited cytotoxicity against HL-60 cells with IC(50) values of 1.5+/-0.02 and 4.3+/-0.13 microM, and against A549 cells with IC(50) values of 13.6+/-0.32 and 19.9+/-1.27 microM, respectively. The aldehyde group of 1 and 2 was revealed to be a structural requirement for the appearance of cytotoxicity in this type of lignans. These tumor cell deaths were shown to be mediated through induction of apoptosis.  (+info)

Sandalwood fragrance biosynthesis involves sesquiterpene synthases of both the terpene synthase (TPS)-a and TPS-b subfamilies, including santalene synthases. (8/10)

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