Methyl Jasmonate Effect on Betulinic Acid Content and Biological Properties of Extract from Senna obtusifolia Transgenic Hairy Roots

Abstract

It is known that Senna obtusifolia has been used in medicine since ancient times due to the content of many valuable compounds with a pro-health effect. One of them is betulinic acid, which is a pentacyclic triterpene with antimalarial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. In this work, a continuation of our previous research, an attempt was made to increase the level of betulinic acid accumulation by the cultivation of transgenic hairy roots that overexpress the squalene synthase gene in a 10 L sprinkle bioreactor with methyl jasmonate elicitation. We present that the applied strategy allowed us to increase the content of betulinic acid in hairy root cultures to the level of 48 mg/g dry weight. The obtained plant extracts showed a stronger cytotoxic effect on the U87MG glioblastoma cell line than the roots grown without elicitors. Additionally, the induction of apoptosis, reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, chromosomal DNA fragmentation and activation of caspase cascades are demonstrated. Moreover, the tested extract showed inhibition of topoisomerase I activity.

Expression of PnSS Promotes Squalene and Oleanolic Acid (OA) Accumulation in Aralia elata via Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA) Induction

“…On the other hand, the application of elicitors such as MeJA is one of the common biotechnological approaches to improve the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites via regulating expression levels of one or more genes. In Senna obtusifolia transgenic hairy roots with overexpression of PgSS1 gene, MeJA treatment provided a significant effect on the biosynthesis of Betulinic Acid [ 18 ]. In B. falcatum with overexpression of BfSS1 gene, MeJA treatment elevated the levels of Squalene, phytosterols, and saikosaponins [ 12 ].…”

An Evaluation of the Novel Biological Properties of Diterpenes Isolated from Plectranthus ornatus Codd. In Vitro and In Silico

“…Despite enormous global advances in modern medicine, such diseases still present a serious problem for public health especially in developing countries [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Numerous studies show that both extracts and pure compounds isolated from plants show great biological potential in vitro and in vivo, exhibiting many desirable pharmacological properties [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…Molecular weight; 2 number of rotatable bonds; 3 number of hydrogen bond acceptors; 4 number of hydrogen bond donors; 5 the ratio of sp 3 hybridized carbons over the total carbon count of the molecule; 6 topological polar surface area; 7 the octanol-water partition coefficient;8 LogS, as a measure of solubility 9. Lipinski's rule of 5 sets 5 criteria; 10 probability of a compound to have a bioavailability of more than 10% in rats.…”