CONVERSION OF 3-DEMETHYLTHIOCOLCHICINE INTO THIOCOLCHICOSIDE BY CENTELLA-ASIATICA SUSPENSION-CULTURES

Exogenously supplied 3-demethylthiocolchicine was converted into 3-O-g lucosylthiocolchicine (thiocolchicoside) by a cell suspension culture of Centelle asiatica. Around 30% of 3-demethylthiocolchicine (136 mu M ) was glucosylated after an 11-day incubation period. In vitro glucosy lation by cell-free extracts demonstrated that the enzymatic reaction required specifically uridine diphosphate-D-glucose (UDPGlc) as a high energy glucose donor. Various endogenous phenolic compounds were assa yed for their effect on the glucosyltransferase reaction. (C) 1998 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.