Current Position

Education and Training

2000-2004 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Saskatchewan, Dept. of Chemistry, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

1996-1999 Doctorat Sciences des Agroressources
Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse, Dept. des sciences pharmaceutiques, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France

1995-1996 DEA Sciences des Agroressources
Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse, Dept. des sciences pharmaceutiques, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France

1991-1995 Maîtrise Chimie et Biologie Végétales
Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Pau, France

Research Funding

Lab Staff

Research Investigations

Cancer chemopreventive and antioxidants natural products from glucosinolate containing plants

Our group is interested in natural product chemistry. Our research interests are mainly oriented toward the isolation and structure elucidation of secondary metabolites from higher plants using modern spectroscopic methods. We preferably focus on new natural products likely to possess biological activities.

1. Originally, we are more concerned about the plants from the Brassicaceae family or also called Crucifers, which are mainly consumed as vegetables. The most famous examples belonging to that family of cruciferous plants are cabbages, canola, cauliflower, radishes etc. Several epidemiological studies suggest that consumption of cruciferous vegetables may be particularly effective in reducing cancer risk at several organ sites. Crucifers that are widely consumed are especially rich in glucosinolates, which are responsible for the hot, pungent taste of the mustards. Glucosinolates are beta-thioglucoside N-hydroxysulfates with a side chain and a sulphur-linked beta-D-glucopyranose moiety, which are converted by plant myrosinase and gastrointestinal microflora to isothiocyanates. A limited number of glucosinolates that were examined effectively block chemical carcinogenesis in animal models.

2. Fruits and vegetables contain several polyphenolic compounds, which possess in general several biological properties. Flavonoids are mainly used as veinotonic. They have anti-inflammatory as well as anti-allergic properties. Some of them have shown cytotoxic, antimitotic, antitumor and potential cancer chemopreventive activities. Furthermore, some polyphenolic compounds (for example proantocyanidins from grape and wine) have antioxidant activities and they could possess a role in enhancing chemoprevention and prolonging healthy life. In fact, in spite of a lipid rich diet, the low impact on cardiovascular diseases called the French paradox is assigned to red wine consumption. Multiple mechanisms are undoubtedly involved in the protective effects of diets rich in fruits and vegetables.

We are investigating the phytochemical compositions (intact glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, flavonoids, alkaloids…) of wild cruciferous plants that have never been studied in general and for potential cancer chemoprotection or antioxidants properties. These studies will be performed on various wild cruciferous plants but also endemic plants of Canada. These investigations can be expanded to other glucosinolates containing families and other plant families especially to species used in different folk medicines. The compounds will be separated using several chromatographic methods. After structural elucidation, quantification in different organs of the plants, pure compounds could be used in more elaborated tests to understand the mechanisms of action.

The objective is to develop new perspectives of uses for these plants, which would give them a higher value in addition to food consumption and to have a better understanding of the relative contributions of various components of plants to cancer risk reduction.

Refereed Papers

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mohamed Hossain, Mohamed G. Sarwar and Sabine Montaut. Determination of the enantiomeric purity of the phytoalexins spirobrassinins by 1H NMR using chiral solvation. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 14, 5469-5471, 2004.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut and Mojmír Suchý. Phytoalexins from the crucifer rutabaga: structures, synthesis, biosynthesis and antifungal activites. J. Org. Chem., 69, 4471-4476, 2004.

M. Soledade C. Pedras and Sabine Montaut. The biosynthesis of crucifer phytoalexins: unprecedented incorporation of a 1-methoxyindolyl precursor. Chem. Comm., 4, 452-453, 2004.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut, Irina L. Zaharia, Yuanzu Gai and Dale E. Ward. Transformation of the host-selective toxin destruxin B by wild crucifers: probing a detoxification pathway. Phytochemistry, 64(5), 957-963, 2003.

M. Soledade C. Pedras and Sabine Montaut. Probing crucial metabolic pathways in fungal pathogens of crucifers: biotransformation of indole-3-acetaldoxime, 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldoxime, and their metabolites. Bioorg. Med. Chem., 11, 3115-3120, 2003.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Corwin M. Nycholat, Sabine Montaut, Yiming Xu and Abdul Q. Khan. Chemical defenses of crucifers: elicitation and metabolism of phytoalexins and indole-3-acetonitrile in brown mustard and turnip. Phytochemistry 59, 611-625, 2002.

Antoine Fréchard, Nicolas Fabre, Christophe Péan, Sabine Montaut, Marie-Thérèse Fauvel, Patrick Rollin and Isabelle Fourasté. Corrigendum to « Novel indole-type glucosinolates from woad (Isatis tinctoria L.)”. Tetrahedron Lett., 43, 1591-1592, 2002.

Antoine Fréchard, Nicolas Fabre, Christophe Péan, Sabine Montaut, Marie-Thérèse Fauvel, Patrick Rollin and Isabelle Fourasté. Novel indole-type glucosinolates from woad (Isatis tinctoria L.). Tetrahedron Lett., 42, 9015-9017, 2001.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut, Yiming Xu, Abdul Q. Khan and Ali Loukaci. Assembling the biosynthetic puzzle of crucifer metabolites: indole-3-acetaldoxime is incorporated efficiently into phytoalexins but glucobrassicin is not. Chem. Comm., 17, 1572-1573, 2001.

Non-refereed contributions

Sabine Montaut. Chemical Defenses of Cultivated Cruciferous Plants: Structure, Activity and Biosynthetic Precursors. Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre, Department of Research (Sudbury, Canada). December 13th 2004. Invited presentation.

Sabine Montaut. Phytoalexins in Cruciferous Vegetables - Turnip, Rutabaga and Kohlrabi: Isolation, Structure Determination and Biosynthesis. Laurentian University, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (Canada). June 15th 2004. Invited presentation.

Sabine Montaut and M. Soledade C. Pedras. Phytoalexins from the crucifer rutabaga: isolation, structure determination, and biosynthesis. 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Conference and Exhibition, August 10-15th 2003, Ottawa (Canada). Poster N°OR.7.P082 (298).

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut, Paulos B. Chumala and Pearson W. K. Ahiahonu. Phytoalexins from Wild and Cultivated Crucifers: Isolation, Structure Determination, Synthesis, and Biosynthesis. 38th National Organic Chemistry Symposium, June 8-12th 2003, Bloomington, Indiana (U.S.A). Poster N°D38.

Sabine Montaut. Phytoalexins in Cruciferous Vegetables: Crucial Role of Indole-3-acetaldoxime in Biosynthesis. University of Saskatchewan, Department of Chemistry (Canada). March 4th 2003. Invited presentation.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut, Paulos B. Chumala and Pearson W.K. Ahiahonu. Chemical Defenses of Crucifers: Biotransformation and Biosynthesis. 23rdInternational Symposium on the chemistry of natural products, July 28th-August 2nd 2002, Florence, Italy. Presentation O14.

M. Soledade C. Pedras and Sabine Montaut. Biotransformation of the Cruciferous Phytoalexin Precursor Indole-3-Acetaldehyde Oxime by Fungal Pathogens. 85th Canadian Society for Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, June 1-5th 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Poster N°951.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut, Corwin M. Nycholat and Yiming Xu. Chemical Defenses of Canola, Brown Mustard and Turnip: Biotransformation and Biosynthesis. 85th Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Conference and Exhibition, June 1-5th 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Presentation N°386.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Sabine Montaut S., Yiming Xu, Abdul Q. Khan and Ali Loukaci. Assembling the biosynthetic puzzle of crucifer metabolites: incorporation of indole-3-acetaldoxime into phytoalexins. 37th National Organic Chemistry Symposium, June 10-14th 2001, Bozeman, Montana (U.S.A.). Poster N°199.

M. Soledade C. Pedras, Corwin M. Nycholat, Sabine Montaut and Yiming Xu. Elicitation of brassica phytoalexins and biotransformation of brassinin in brown mustard and turnip roots. 37th National Organic Chemistry Symposium, June 10-14th 2001, Bozeman, Montana (U.S.A). Poster N°198.

Sabine Montaut, Marie-Thérèse Fauvel, Renato Iori, Patrick Rollin, Gérard Vilarem and Isabelle Fourasté. Isolation and identification of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates from woad fruits (Isatis tinctoria L.). 2000 years of natural products research - Past, present and future, July 26-30th 1999, Amsterdam (Netherlands). Poster N°207.

Affiliations

• Canadian Society for Chemistry
• Société Française de Chimie