Skip to main content
Log in

Insect hormones in vertebrates: Anabolic effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone in Japanese quail

  • Research Articles
  • Published:
Experientia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ecdysteroids are hormones controlling cell proliferation, growth and the developmental cycles of insects and other invertebrates1. They are occasionally present in various unrelated plants for no apparent reason; no phytohormonal function has yet been identified. In certain cases, ecdysteroids are accumulated to high levels in leaves, roots or seeds. Some ecdysteroid-containing plants have been known as medicinal plants for centuries. One of them,Leuzea carthamoides Iljin (Asteraceae), growing in Central Asia, contains 0.4% ecdysteroid in dry roots and 2% in seeds. A pharmacological preparation from this plant, ‘Ecdisten’, is already available as a commercial preparation for its anabolic, tonic and other effects, for medical use (review2). It remained problematic, however, whether ecdysteroids were truly responsible for these effects, becauseLeuzea contains a number of other biologically active compounds in addition to ecdysteroids. We extracted and purified ecdysteroids from the seeds ofLeuzea. With 6 g of 96% 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), we made a large-scale feeding assay with Japanese quail to find out whether ecdysteroid alone could duplicate the anabolic effects of the seeds. We found that the 96% ecdysteroid increased the mass of the developing quails in a dose-dependent manner, with the rate of increase proportional to the ecdysteroid content in the seeds; there was a 115% increase in living mass with 100 mg kg−1 of pure 20E compared with 109.5% increase with 100–180 mg kg−1 20E equivalents in the seeds. We conclude that the plethora of growth-promoting, vitamin-like effects induced in vertebrates byLeuzea is mediated by ecdysteroids.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lafont, R., and Horn, D. H. S., in: Ecdysone: from Chemistry to Mode of Action, pp. 39–64. Ed. J. Koolman. G. Thieme, Stuttgart 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Sláma, K., and Lafont, R., Eur. J. Entomol.92 (1995) 355.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Karlson, P., Hoffmeister, H., Hummel, H., Hocks, P., and Spitteler, C., Chem. Ber.98 (1965) 2394.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Delbecque, J.-P., Weidner, K., and Hoffmann, K. H., Invert. Reprod. Dev.18 (1990) 29.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sláma, K., Acta Entomol. Bohemoslov.77 (1980) 145.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sláma, K., Phytoparasitica21 (1993) 3.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Macháčková, I., Vágner, M., and Sláma, K., Eur. J. Entomol.92 (1995) 309.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Syrov, V. N., and Kurmukov, A. G., Dokl. Akad. Nauk Uzbek. SSR34 (1977) 27.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Syrov, V. N., Biol. Nauki (Moscow)11 (1984) 16.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Koudela K., Tenora, J., Bajer, J., Maťhová, A., and Sláma, K., Eur. J. Entomol.92 (1995) 349.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Nitsan, Z., Proc. XIXth World's Poultry Congr.3 (1992) 325.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Varga, E., Szendrei, K., Hajdu, Zs., Hornok, L., and Csáki, Gy., Herba Hungarica25 (1986) 115.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lafont, R., Morgan, E. D., and Wilson, I. D., J. Chromatogr.658 (1994) 31.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Arnault, C., and Sláma, K., J. Chem. Ecol.12 (1986) 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hikino, H., Ohizumi, Y., and Takemoto, T., Yakugakuzasshi,92 (1972) 945.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kotsyuruba, A. V., Ahmed, I., Tarakanov, S. S., and Kholodova, Yu. D., Ukr. Biokhim. Zh.64 (1992) 52.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Simon, P., and Koolman, J., in: Ecdysone: from Chemistry to Mode of Action, pp. 254–259. Ed. J. Koolman. G. Thieme, Stuttgart 1989.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sláma, K., Koudela, K., Tenora, J. et al. Insect hormones in vertebrates: Anabolic effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone in Japanese quail. Experientia 52, 702–706 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01925578

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01925578

Key words

Navigation