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Claviceps purpurea (Ergot): Culture and Bioproduction of Ergot Alkaloids

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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants VII

Part of the book series: Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry ((AGRICULTURE,volume 28))

Abstract

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea), best known as a disease of rye and some other grasses, is probably the most widely cultivated fungus and has now become an important field crop. The main reason for its importance is the presence of ergot alkaloids, extensively used in medicine. Currently, ergot alkaloids cover a large field of therapeutic uses as drugs of high potency in the treatment of uterine atonia, postpartum bleeding, migraine, orthostatic circulatory disturbances, senile cerebral insufficiency, hypertension, hyperprolactinemia, acromegaly, and parkinsonism (Berde and Schild 1978). Recently, new therapeutic uses have emerged, such as, e. g., against schizophrenia (Markstein et al. 1992), applications based on newly discovered antibacterial (Eich et al. 1985) and cytostatic effects (Eich at al. 1986), immunomodulatory (Šterzl et al. 1987) and hypolipemic activity (Golda et al. 1980; Cincotta and Meier 1989).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20, Prague 4, Czech Republic

    V. Křen

  2. Galena-Pharmaceutical Works, 74700, Opava, Czech Republic

    P. Harazim & Z. Malinka

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  1. V. Křen
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  2. P. Harazim
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  3. Z. Malinka
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  1. A-137 New Friends Colony, New Delhi, 110065, India

    Y. P. S. Bajaj

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Křen, V., Harazim, P., Malinka, Z. (1994). Claviceps purpurea (Ergot): Culture and Bioproduction of Ergot Alkaloids. In: Bajaj, Y.P.S. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants VII. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, vol 28. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-30369-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-30369-6_10

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