Comparative analysis of metabolites and antioxidant potentials from different plant parts of Curcuma aeruginosa roxb

A comparative analysis of metabolites from different parts of Curcuma aeruginosa, i.e. leaves, stems, adventitious roots and rhizomes was performed by GC-MS/MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. The GC-MS/MS analysis confirmed the occurrence of 26 metabolites belonged to terpenoids in almost all the samples. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that there was a clear distinction between rhizomes and other plant parts, i.e. stems, leaves, and adventitious roots that could be explained by relatively higher contents of terpenoids including curzerene, alpha-farnesen, furanocoumarin, velleral, germacrone cineole, borneol, beta- and gamma- elemene and methenolone. The results of Hierarchical Clustering Analyses (HCA) corresponded with the PCA results where many terpenoids found abundantly high in rhizome were clustered together. This was supported by the Pearson correlation analysis that showed a significantly good relationship between those terpenoids. The adventitious roots demonstrated the strongest antioxidant activity as compared to the other plant parts which could be attributed to its highest Total Phenolic Contents (TPC). Total phenolic contents of all the plant parts were positively correlated with their antioxidant activities which indicate that phenolic compounds may play a role in the overall antioxidant activities of the plants. The results of the study highlighted the potential of this underexploited Curcuma species which could serve as a new source of important phytochemicals and natural antioxidant that could be incorporated in functional foods and nutraceuticals. In addition, chemical and biological evidence shown in the present work has rationalised the different uses of various plant parts of C. aeruginosa

Immature embryo: A useful tool for oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) genetic transformation studies

Oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the highest yielding oil-bearing crop. However, being a perennial crop, genetic improvement of oil palm is extremely slow. Indeed, compared to other annual oil crops such as soybean and rapeseed, genetic manipulations remained less important. Therefore, to remain competitive, oil palm growers and breeders need new and novel approaches. In this report, the potential of immature embryos (IE) as a useful tool for oil palm genetic transformation studies was evaluated. It was evident that IEs were amenable to both direct and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Due to the abundant supply of IE, optimization of biolistic and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer into IEs were easily carried out. Transient transformation frequencies were comparable to other plant systems reported, with as high as 97.4% recorded for biolistic and 64.4% for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Like most moncots, oil palm tissues were less sensitive to kanamycin, geneticin and chloramphenicol. Instead, both hygromycin and phosphinotrycin were toxic 20 mg/l, making both suitable candidates for selecting putative transformants. IEs were also more responsive to in vitro manipulations as compared to other explants such as leaf and root tissues. Rapid in vitro response to callusing and embryogenesis or rapid and highly efficient direct germination resulted in a shorter culture period. This would minimize the production of abnormal clonal palms, which has been associated to chromosomal aberration due to prolonged time in culture. In addition, IEs also allows rapid and direct introduction of elite genes into breeding programs and in biclonal seed production

Chemical profiling of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. rhizome using different techniques of solvent extraction

Objective: To investigate the possible phytochemical constituents of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. (C. aeruginosa) rhizome using two different techniques of direct solvent extraction. Methods: Two different techniques of direct solvent extractions, i.e. methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) extraction and two-phase methanol/chloroform (M/C) system, were used in this study. The analysis of the phytochemical constituents in MTBE and M/C extracts was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. The mass spectra of the compounds was matched with the NIST 08 mass spectral library. Results: The present study revealed that the extraction using two-phase M/C have resulted in higher metabolite coverage compared to the extraction with MTBE. Direct solvent extraction using MTBE revealed the presence of 27 compounds; whereas, M/C allowed the extraction of 18 and 36 compounds in polar (methanol) and nonpolar (chloroform) fractions respectively. The major compounds detected in the MTBE extract that based on the peak area percentage were methenolone (16.64%), cycloisolongifolene, 8,9-dehydro-9-formyl- (15.93%), labd-13-en-15-oic acid,8,12-epoxy-12-hydroxy-γ-lactone (10.77%), propiolic acid, 3-(1-hydroxy)-2 isopropyl-1,5-methylcyclohexyl) (7.84%), 4-oxo-β-isodamascol (5.17%), velleral (3.11%) and Z-α-farnesene (2.00%). The most prevailing major compounds identified in the polar fraction of the M/C extraction were α-D glucopyranoside, 1,3,4,6 tetrakis-O-(TMS) (trimethylsilyl)-β-D-fructofuranosyl 2,3,4,6-tetrakis-O-(TMS)- (38.08%), d-glucose, 2,3,4,5,6-pentakis-O-(TMS)-, O-methyloxime (14.61%), D-fructose, 1,3,4,5,6-pentakis-O-(TMS)-, O-methyloxime (5.28%), isocitric acid (TMS) (3.06%), oxalic acid, bis (TMS) ester (2.96%), hexadecanoic acid, TMS ester (2.16%), citric acid, ethyl ester, tri-TMS (1.91%) and butanedioic acid, [(TMS) oxy]-, bis (TMS) ester (1.14%); whereas in the nonpolar extract, among the major compounds detected were cycloisolongifolene, 8, 9-dehydro −9-formyl (15.70%), propiolic acid, 3-(1-hydroxy-2-isopropyl-5-methylcyclohexyl) (11.09%), stearic acid, TMS ester (2.78%), hexadecanoic acid, TMS ester (2.33%), oleic acid, TMS ester (1.62%), curzerene (1.56%); Z-α-farnesene (1.52%), germacrone (1.41%) and β-elemene (1.33%). Conclusions: It was evident from the results that C. aeruginosa rhizome extracted using two different techniques of solvent extractions (MTBE and M/C) contained various chemical classes of compounds including terpenoids, sterols, organic acids, fatty acids and sugars. Different methods of extraction have led to different compounds extraction for C. aeruginosa rhizome. The results also indicated that the plant was a source of phytochemical importance

Reconstruction of Curcuma aeruginosa secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway using omics data

Curcuma aeruginosa or temu hitam is herbaceous plant with high therapeutic values in its rhizome that is widely used in traditional medicine. However, molecular studies on the secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway of C. aeruginosa is still limited. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore and reconstruct the secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathway of C. aeruginosa rhizome by integrating the metabolite profiling and transcriptomic data. A total of 81 metabolites were identified in the rhizome of C. aeruginosa; amongst others are curzerene and β-Cubebene which are potent antioxidants. A total of 28,225 unigene were obtained from the transcriptomic sequencing of C. aeruginosa rhizome and analysed to identify potential genes associated with the biosynthesis of its metabolites. Of these, 43 unigenes were identified and mapped onto five sub-pathways; i.e. carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, diterpenoid biosynthetic pathway, monoterpenoid biosynthetic pathway, terpenoid and steroid biosynthetic pathway, and sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthetic pathway. This study demonstrated a systematic bioinformatic approach to reconstruct a metabolic pathway in the rhizome of C. aeruginosa using bioinformatic approach

Immature embryo: A useful tool for oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) genetic transformation studies

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the highest yielding oil-bearing crop. However, being a perennial crop, genetic improvement of oil palm is extremely slow. Indeed, compared to other annual oil crops such as soybean and rapeseed, genetic manipulations remained less important. Therefore, to remain competitive, oil palm growers and breeders need new and novel approaches. In this report, the potential of immature embryos (IE) as a useful tool for oil palm genetic transformation studies was evaluated. It was evident that IEs were amenable to both direct and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Due to the abundant supply of IE, optimization of biolistic and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer into IEs were easily carried out. Transient transformation frequencies were comparable to other plant systems reported, with as high as 97.4% recorded for biolistic and 64.4% for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Like most moncots, oil palm tissues were less sensitive to kanamycin, geneticin and chloramphenicol. Instead, both hygromycin and phosphinotrycin were toxic 20 mg/l, making both suitable candidates for selecting putative transformants. IEs were also more responsive to in vitro manipulations as compared to other explants such as leaf and root tissues. Rapid in vitro response to callusing and embryogenesis or rapid and highly efficient direct germination resulted in a shorter culture period. This would minimize the production of abnormal clonal palms, which has been associated to chromosomal aberration due to prolonged time in culture. In addition, IEs also allows rapid and direct introduction of elite genes into breeding programs and in biclonal seed production

Immature embryo: a useful tool for oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) genetic transformation studies

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the highest yielding oil-bearing crop. However, being a perennial crop, genetic improvement of oil palm is extremely slow. Indeed, compared to other annual oil crops such as soybean and rapeseed, genetic manipulations remained less important. Therefore, to remain competitive, oil palm growers and breeders need new and novel approaches. In this report, the potential of immature embryos (IE) as a useful tool for oil palm genetic transformation studies was evaluated. It was evident that IEs were amenable to both direct and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Due to the abundant supply of IE, optimization of biolistic and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer into IEs were easily carried out. Transient transformation frequencies were comparable to other plant systems reported, with as high as 97.4% recorded for biolistic and 64.4% for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Like most moncots, oil palm tissues were less sensitive to kanamycin, geneticin and chloramphenicol. Instead, both hygromycin and phosphinotrycin were toxic 20 mg/l, making both suitable candidates for selecting putative transformants. IEs were also more responsive to in vitro manipulations as compared to other explants such as leaf and root tissues. Rapid in vitro response to callusing and embryogenesis or rapid and highly efficient direct germination resulted in a shorter culture period. This would minimize the production of abnormal clonal palms, which has been associated to chromosomal aberration due to prolonged time in culture. In addition, IEs also allows rapid and direct introduction of elite genes into breeding programs and in biclonal seed production