Huperzine alkaloids from Australasian and southeast Asian Huperzia

Figures & data

Table 1.  Seventeen Huperzia species‡ were screened for foliar huperzine A (HupA) and huperzine B (HupB) concentrations. Samples were predominantly from Australasia and southeast Asia (15 species), but included one species from Brazil and Mexico. One standard error of the mean (SE) is presented for species with multiple plant samples.

Huperzia species	Country	Plants sampled	Mean HupA (mg g^−1 dry wt )	SE	Mean HupB (mg g^−1 dry wt )	SE
Huperzia aqualupiana (Spring) Rothm. ARF 029	Brazil	1	0.204		0.074
Huperzia brassii (Copel.) Holub ARF 089	Papua New Guinea	1	0		0
Huperzia carinata (Desv.ex Poir.) Trevis ARF 020, 024-6, 604, 800-1, 1099, 1121, 1141, 2631-3, 2749; BG 9357- 69; LWH 5-8	Queensland, Australia; Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Solomon Islands	32	0.15	0.026	0.021	0.006
Huperzia elmeri (Herter) Holub ARF 709, 816, 1096	Malaysia; Philippines	3	0.608	0.202	0.121	0.109
Huperzia foliosa (Copel.) HolubARF 019	Fiji	1	0.0		0.0
Huperzia hippuris (Desv. ex Poiret) Trevisan ARF 031	Papua New Guinea	1	0.0		0.0
Huperzia mirabilis (Willd.) Holub ARF 603	Philippines	1	0.257		0.0
Huperzia nummulariifolia (Blume) Chambers, Jermy & Crabbe ARF 001	Papua New Guinea	1	0.004		0.0
Huperzia ovalifolia Ching ARF 1140	Vanuatu	1	0.05		0.07
Huperzia phlegmaria (L.) Rothm. ARF 005, 021-23, 052, 113, 602, 627, 642, 708, 886, 910, 1100, 2639-41, 2692, 2702, 2755, 2781; BG 9370-2; LWH 1-4, 9	Queensland, Australia; Indonesia; Malaysia; Thailand	28	0.108	0.022	0.015	0.004
Huperzia phlegmarioides (Gaudich.) Rothm. ARF 053, 628, 632, 1011, 2338, 2534-7, 2693; BG 9373-9378	Queensland, Australia; Fiji; Papua New Guinea	17	0.032	0.014	0.013	0.008
Huperzia squarrosa (C.Forster) Trevisan ARF 015, 885, 1101-3, 1113, 2688-9, 2694, 2760; LWH 10-11	Queensland, Australia; Fiji; Indonesia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Singapore	12	0.146	0.034	0.009	0.005
Huperzia subtrifoliata (Brownlie) Holub ARF 702	Fiji	1	0.0		0.0
Huperzia taxifolia (Sw.) Trevis. ARF 2787	Mexico	1	0.0		0.0
Huperzia tetrasticha (Kunze) Holub ARF 013, 815, 1097-8	Malaysia; Papua New Guinea	4	0.074	0.032	0.007	0.004
Huperzia varia (R.Br.) Trevisan ARF 1043	Tasmania, Australia	1	0.064		0.144
Huperzia vrieseana (Spring) ARF 049	Indonesia	1	0.2		0.0

^‡ No globally recognized taxonomic system of Lycopodiaceae exists and a number of different taxonomic systems remain in use. This study has chosen to follow the taxonomic system proposed by Øllgard (1987) which recognizes Phlegmariurus Holub as a synonym of Huperzia Bernhardi.

Figure 1.  Foliar huperzine A concentrations in individual plants of (A) Huperzia carinata, n = 32; (B) H. phlegmaria, n = 28; (C) H. squarrosa, n = 12; and (D) H. phlegmariodies, n = 17. Plants are ordered according to increasing HupA concentrations to illustrate the range of concentrations within each species. Countries in the legend represent original source localities of the samples.

Table 2.  Concentrations of HupA and HupB within different plant tissue types across five Huperzia species.

Huperzia species	Individual plant number	HupA (mg g^−1 dry wt )			HupB (mg g^−1 dry wt )
		Leaf	Stem	Tassel	Leaf	Stem	Tassel
H. elmeri	1	0.675	0.224	1.3	0.16	0.08	0.461
	2	0.723	0.255	n/a	0.029	0.011	n/a
H. mirabilis	1	0.459	0.11	n/a	0.0	0.0	n/a
H. phlegmaria	1	0.222	0.0	0.159	0.023	0.0	0.0
	2	0.129	0.066	n/a	0.0	0.0	n/a
	3	0.136	0.072	n/a	0.054	0.005	n/a
H. phlegmariodies	1	0.097	0.021	n/a	0.115	0.096	n/a
	2	0.202	0.202	n/a	0.128	0.1375	n/a
H. squarrosa	1	0.31	0.20	n/a	0.056	0.012	n/a
	2	0.142	0.08	0.383	0.026	0.012	0.039
	3	0.021	0.048	n/a	0.0	0,0	n/a

n/a, Tassels were not present on collected plant sample. Values are means of duplicate extractions.

Øllgaard B (1987): A revised classification of the Lycopodiaceae s. Lat Opera Botanica 92: 153–178.

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