Alpha-tomatine (α-tomatine) belongs to the compound group steroidal glycoalkaloids.
These compounds consist of an aglycon, which is a cholesterol derivative, and a carbohydrate chain, which in the case of α-tomatine consists of two d-glucose units, a d-galactose unit, and a d-xylose unit.
In α-tomatine, the tetrasaccharide called lycotetraose is attached to the O-3 of the steroidal aglycone.
At first it was thought that the synthesis of steroidal alkaloids only involved multiple steps of hydroxylation, oxidation and amination of cholesterol with arginine as the source of the incorporated nitrogen.
Later the glycoalkaloid metabolism genes were discovered.
These genes produce the glycoalkaloid metabolism enzymes, which are responsible for the synthesis of steroidal alkaloid aglycones in potato and tomato plants.
The reaction these enzymes perform are shown in the figure 1.
Alpha-tomatine (α-tomatine) belongs to the compound group steroidal glycoalkaloids. These compounds consist of an aglycon, which is a cholesterol derivative, and a carbohydrate chain, which in the case of α-tomatine consists of two d-glucose units, a d-galactose unit, and a d-xylose unit. In α-tomatine, the tetrasaccharide called lycotetraose is attached to the O-3 of the steroidal aglycone. At first it was thought that the synthesis of steroidal alkaloids only involved multiple steps of hydroxylation, oxidation and amination of cholesterol with arginine as the source of the incorporated nitrogen. Later the glycoalkaloid metabolism genes were discovered. These genes produce the glycoalkaloid metabolism enzymes, which are responsible for the synthesis of steroidal alkaloid aglycones in potato and tomato plants. The reaction these enzymes perform are shown in the figure 1.
Tomatine