An Ethno-Directed Investigation of the Phytochemistry and Analgesic Activity of the Medicinal Plant Monotropa uniflora

Abstract:
Plants are a crucial frontier in the discovery and development of new medicines. Of the 1,394 small molecule drugs approved by the FDA between 1981 and 2019, 53.1% were from natural products or based on natural product pharmacophores. Monotropa uniflora, commonly known as “ghost pipe,” is a plant with a long history of traditional medicinal use in the United States. More recently, ghost pipe has become popular for its reported analgesic (pain-relieving) properties on social media and the internet. Despite this rapid increase in online popularity, there is almost no literature documenting the phytochemistry, active compounds, or safety of ghost pipe. Additionally, ghost-pipe is myco-heterotrophic, or parasitic to mycorrhizal fungi. Thus, its secondary metabolite profile --and therefore medicinal properties --may be significantly impacted by changes in its host environment. Using the traditional practices surrounding ghost pipe as a guide, also known as the “ethno-directed” approach, I am integrating untargeted metabolomics approaches with in vivo bioassays to to study the ecological and bioactive chemistry of this plant and evaluate its potential as a novel analgesic. Results from this approach have revealed significant in vivo analgesic activity of ghost pipe extracts in both male and female mice, demonstrating the potential of ghost pipe as a source for novel analgesic compounds.

About the Speaker:
Savannah Anez is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Plant Biology program at Penn State. She is originally from rural Minnesota, and received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Notre Dame, where she worked on the develop of genetic ancestry markers for American Chestnut trees. Currently, Savannah is working with Dr. Joshua Kellogg and Dr. Eric Burkhart, as well as a network of citizen volunteers, to characterize the specific chemistry, bioactivity, and chemical ecology of ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora) and to document its traditional folk uses. She was recently awarded a NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship to study ghost pipe's potential as a novel analgesic. Savannah is especially fascinated by the complex biochemistry of plants, and how those complexities influence the people who use and interact with them. She hopes to produce scientific results that have been guided by historical and contemporary knowledge and are directly relevant to the community she is drawing from.

Contact

  Joshua Kellogg
  jjk6146@psu.edu