Química Nova (Jan 2009)

Peptídeos cíclicos de biomassa vegetal: características, diversidade, biossíntese e atividades biológicas Cyclic peptide from plant biomass: chemical features and diversity, biosynthesis and biological activities

  • Douglas Gatte Picchi,
  • Wanessa Fernanda Altei,
  • Mônica Sue Saito,
  • Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani,
  • Eduardo Maffud Cilli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-40422009000500033
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 32, no. 5
pp. 1262 – 1277

Abstract

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Natural peptides are outstanding as the most promising macromolecules in the search for new drugs, especially those of cyclic nature. The higher plants revealed a very peculiar composition of their cyclic peptides, which distinguish themselves by a "head-to-tail" cyclization. It is possible to define two groups of cyclic peptides from plant biomass. Those called in this review as Eucyclopeptides formed by 2-12 amino acid, and Cyclotides considered as circular polypeptides, composed of 29-37 amino acid that retain three disulfides bridges in an arrangement known as cyclic cystine knot. Searching for plant peptides should form into a subject for scientific research in the forefront of great importance for bioprospecting natural products macromolecular.

Keywords