The Geography of Phytochemical Races

2.5 Asia 61
Fig. 2.37 Map of Juniperus
phoenicea sites on Corsica
2.4.10 Phlomis lychnitys (Lamiaceae)
Phlomis consists of about 100 species, a dozen of which occur in Mediterranean
Europe (Mabberley, 1997, p. 549). The study of interest here involves a study of the
fl avonoids of P. lychnitys L., a small plant native to Mediterranean Spain (Tomás et al.,
1986). Those workers identifi ed the common fl avones apigenin, luteolin, and luteolin
3′-methyl ether (chrysoeriol) 7-O-glucosides and their respective p-coumaroyl derivatives.
A brief review of the literature revealed that Mediterranean species of Phlomis
are characterized by the presence of the fl avone methyl ether, whereas continental
species appear to lack O-methylated fl avones. Species from India have been reported
to lack fl avones but accumulate fl avonols. The suggestion was made that accumulation
of fl avonols represents an ancestral feature of the genus.
2.5 Asia
2.5.1 Datura and Berberis — Alkaloids and Elevation
The earlier alkaloid literature contains numerous reports of studies aimed at discovering
the existence of chemotypes involving these pharmacologically important
compounds. An example of this sort of study comes from the work of Karnick
and Saxena (1970) who were interested in the effect of elevation on total alkaloid
content of Datura metel L. (Solanaceae), an important source of hyoscyamine [26]