Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) Leaves by a High Level of Sucrose and Confer Increased Antioxidant Activity
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that the level of flavonoids in lemon balm can be increased significantly and that plants such as Lemon balm could potentially be used to prevent diseases that have been purported to be caused by free radical damage.
Abstract: Medicinal plants are widely used in traditional medicine because plant secondary metabolites have been shown to benefit a broad spectrum of health conditions. Lemon balm, Melissa officinalis L., a member of the mint family, is native to Europe and is well known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep, and ease pain and discomfort associated with digestion. In various plant species, strong anthocyanin induction is triggered by sucrose, but not by other sugars or osmotic stress; however, the mechanisms that induce anthocyanin accumulation in lemon balm leaves in response to sucrose and phytohormones remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms that lead to increased levels of flavonoids in lemon balm plants. We observed that sucrose significantly increases the level of flavonoids in lemon balm plants and that sucrose induction appears to be mediated by the phytohormones abscisic acid and ethylene. We also identified delphinidin as the anthocyanidin that is primarily enriched in leaves grown in high-sucrose medium. Finally, we observed that reactive oxygen species levels are positively correlated with sucrose-mediated anthocyanin accumulation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the level of flavonoids in lemon balm can be increased significantly and that plants such as lemon balm could potentially be used to prevent diseases that have been purported to be caused by free radical damage. Chemical abbreviations used: ABA, (+)-cis, transabscissic acid; ACC, 1-aminocyclopropane-carboxylic acid; CHI, chalcone isomerase; CHS, chalcone synthase; DPPH, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; GA, gibberellic acid; IAA, indole-3-acetic acid.
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TL;DR: It is proposed that Del overexpression elevates transcript levels of anthocyanin biosynthetic and antioxidant-related genes, leading to enhanced anthocianin production and antioxidant activity, which improves abiotic stress tolerance.
Abstract: Background Rosea1 ( Ros1 ) and Delila ( Del ) co-expression controls anthocyanin accumulation in snapdragon flowers, while their overexpression in tomato strongly induces anthocyanin accumulation. However, little data exist on how Del expression alone influences anthocyanin accumulation. Results In tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ‘Xanthi’), Del expression enhanced leaf and flower anthocyanin production through regulating NtCHS , NtCHI , NtF3H , NtDFR , and NtANS transcript levels. Transgenic lines displayed different anthocyanin colors (e.g., pale red: T 0 -P, red: T 0 -R, and strong red: T 0 -S), resulting from varying levels of biosynthetic gene transcripts. Under salt stress, the T 2 generation had higher total polyphenol content, radical (DPPH, ABTS) scavenging activities, antioxidant-related gene expression, as well as overall greater salt and drought tolerance than wild type (WT). Conclusion We propose that Del overexpression elevates transcript levels of anthocyanin biosynthetic and antioxidant-related genes, leading to enhanced anthocyanin production and antioxidant activity. The resultant increase of anthocyanin and antioxidant activity improves abiotic stress tolerance.
64 citations
Cites background from "Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in..."
...Similarly, anthocyanin increase confers heightened ROS scavenging activity in Melissa officinalis leaves [28]....
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TL;DR: It is demonstrated that P. frutescens with higher contents of caffeic acid was produced, and that sucrose could play a role in the induction of this secondary metabolite, and Sucrose-treated perilla leaves, which had better antioxidant activities than untreated leaves, can be used as a potential dietary source.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of chlorocholine chloride (CCC), an anti-gibberellin growth retardant, on photosynthesis, chlorophyll, soluble sugar, total amino acids and phenylalanine contents, flavonoid accumulation, and enzyme activity in G biloba leaves was investigated.
Abstract: The flavonoids content determines the quality characteristics of Ginkgo biloba extract that could be increased by using of plant growth regulators The objective of study was to investigate the effect of chlorocholine chloride (CCC), an anti-gibberellin growth retardant, on photosynthesis, chlorophyll, soluble sugar, total amino acids and phenylalanine contents, flavonoid accumulation, and flavonoids enzyme activity in G biloba leaves The ginkgo seedlings were grown in the greenhouse conditions with foliar applications of 0 (control), 05, 10 and 20 g l -1 CCC Results showed that 05, 10 and 20 g l -1 CCC treatments significantly increased photosynthetic rates of leaves, the contents of chlorophyll, soluble sugar, total amino acids and phenylalnine in ginkgo leaves Total polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins content, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chalcone synthase (CHS) and chalcone isomerase (CHI) activities were all significantly increased by 10 and 20 g l -1 CCC treatments Foliar treatment with CCC therefore might be a useful means of improving pharmacological properties of G biloba leaves
26 citations
Cites background from "Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in..."
...They protect against UV-B radiation and pathogen attack, act as attractants for pollinators, act as signal molecules for initiating plant-microbe symbiotic associations (Winkel-Shirley, 2002) and have been used as colorants, and for allelopathy (Hossain et al., 2009)....
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...In addition, one recent report suggests that lemon balm leaves were exposed to high levels of sucrose, and in response, the anthocyanins and flavonoids accumulated (Hossain et al., 2009)....
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TL;DR: Insight is provided into the responsive network for water-induced cracking in tomato fruit and lncRNAs regulate the hormone-redox-cell wall network, including plant hormone and ROS signal transduction and many cell wall-related mRNAs.
Abstract: Fruit cracking occurs easily under unsuitable environmental conditions and is one of the main types of damage that occurs in fruit production. It is widely accepted that plants have developed defence mechanisms and regulatory networks that respond to abiotic stress, which involves perceiving, integrating and responding to stress signals by modulating the expression of related genes. Fruit cracking is also a physiological disease caused by abiotic stress. It has been reported that a single or several genes may regulate fruit cracking. However, almost none of these reports have involved cracking regulatory networks. Here, RNA expression in 0 h, 8 h and 30 h saturated irrigation-treated fruits from two contrasting tomato genotypes, ‘LA1698’ (cracking-resistant, CR) and ‘LA2683’ (cracking-susceptible, CS), was analysed by mRNA and lncRNA sequencing. The GO pathways of the differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly enriched in the ‘hormone metabolic process’, ‘cell wall organization’, ‘oxidoreductase activity’ and ‘catalytic activity’ categories. According to the gene expression analysis, significantly differentially expressed genes included Solyc02g080530.3 (Peroxide, POD), Solyc01g008710.3 (Mannan endo-1,4-beta-mannosidase, MAN), Solyc08g077910.3 (Expanded, EXP), Solyc09g075330.3 (Pectinesterase, PE), Solyc07g055990.3 (Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase-hydrolase 7, XTH7), Solyc12g011030.2 (Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase-hydrolase 9, XTH9), Solyc10g080210.2 (Polygalacturonase-2, PG2), Solyc08g081010.2 (Gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, gamma-GCS), Solyc09g008720.2 (Ethylene receptor, ER), Solyc11g042560.2 (Ethylene-responsive transcription factor 4, ERF4) etc. In addition, the lncRNAs (XLOC_16662 and XLOC_033910, etc) regulated the expression of their neighbouring genes, and genes related to tomato cracking were selected to construct a lncRNA-mRNA network influencing tomato cracking. This study provides insight into the responsive network for water-induced cracking in tomato fruit. Specifically, lncRNAs regulate the hormone-redox-cell wall network, including plant hormone (auxin, ethylene) and ROS (H2O2) signal transduction and many cell wall-related mRNAs (EXP, PG, XTH), as well as some lncRNAs (XLOC_16662 and XLOC_033910, etc.).
26 citations
TL;DR: S sucrose might reduce ROS-induced oxidative damage by enhancing activities of antioxidant enzymes and the content of anthocyanins, thereby preventing membrane peroxidation and denaturation of biomolecules.
Abstract: To investigate the physiological mechanisms of salt stress mitigated by exogenous sucrose, Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings grown on Murashige and Skoog medium were treated with 3 % (m/v) sucrose combined with 75, 150, and 225 mM NaCl for 3 d. Our results show that increased salinity significantly decreased the survival rate, fresh mass, content of proteins, chlorophyll a (Chl a), and chlorophyll b (Chl b), and activities of antioxidant enzymes, whereas enhanced the content of malondialdehyde. However, the treatment with sucrose significantly enhanced salt stress tolerance in the Arabidopsis seedlings by decreasing lipid peroxidation and increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, the content of proteins, Chl a, Chl b, anthocyanins, and the transcription of genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Thus, sucrose might reduce ROS-induced oxidative damage by enhancing activities of antioxidant enzymes and the content of anthocyanins, thereby preventing membrane peroxidation and denaturation of biomolecules.
22 citations
Additional excerpts
...It is now well evident that salt tolerance in most crop plants is associated with an efficient antioxidant system (Li et al. 2011, Qiu et al. 2011). It is vital for plants to adjust enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants to control the ROS overproduction (Daiponmak et al. 2010). To test if antioxidant enzymes have a role in the protection against salt induced oxidative damage, the activities of key antioxidant enzymes were assayed. We found a remarkable increase in the activities of SOD, CAT, and POD in the seedlings treated with 3 % sucrose combined with the different NaCl concentrations, which improved the survival rate of the Arabidopsis seedlings under the salt stress. It is well known that the antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, CAT and POD, play a significant role in scavenging ROS in salt-stressed plants (Li et al. 2011, Qiu et al. 2013). Therefore, sucrose can exert a protective function, at least in part, by regulating these antioxidant enzyme activities under salt stress. Chl content is widely used as index of plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. Reduction in Chl content due to salt stress was found in Arabidopsis seedlings and also in many crops, such as maize, wheat, etc. (Li et al. 2011, Qiu et al. 2011). However, 3 % sucrose considerably enhanced the content of the photosynthetic pigments under the salinity. The increased Chl content due to exogenous sucrose might increase photosynthesis and growth. In our experiment, the exogenous sucrose also increased the soluble protein content in the seedlings grown on the medium supplemented with different concentrations of NaCl. Recently, Sperdouli and Moustakas (2012) reported an accumulation of anthocyanins which maintained a high antioxidant protection of Arabidopsis leaves under drought stress....
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References
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TL;DR: Key steps of the signal transduction pathway that senses ROIs in plants have been identified and raise several intriguing questions about the relationships between ROI signaling, ROI stress and the production and scavenging ofROIs in the different cellular compartments.
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TL;DR: This review is to assess the mode of action and role of antioxidants in protecting plants from stress caused by the presence of heavy metals in the environment.
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"Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in..." refers background in this paper
...ROS are regarded as toxic byproducts of aerobic metabolism that accumulate to a greater extent in cells under conditions of stress (Gratão et al., 2005, 2008)....
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TL;DR: In addition to their essential roles as substrates in carbon and energy metabolism and in polymer biosynthesis, sugars have important hormone-like functions as primary messengers in signal transduction.
Abstract: In addition to their essential roles as substrates in carbon and energy metabolism and in polymer biosynthesis, sugars have important hormone-like functions as primary messengers in signal transduction. The pivotal role of sugars as signaling molecules is well illustrated by the variety of sugar
1,008 citations
"Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in..." refers background in this paper
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