Change in Secondary Metabolites and Expression Pattern of Key Rosmarinic Acid Related Genes in Iranian Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) Ecotypes Using Methyl Jasmonate Treatments.

Peter Poczai,Farzad Kianersi,Davood Amin Azarm,Alireza Pour-Aboughadareh

doi:10.3390/molecules27051715

Abstract

The medicinal herb, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), which is high in rosmarinic acid (RA), has well-known therapeutic value. The goals of this study were to investigate the effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on RA content, total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC), as well as changes in expression of their biosynthesis-related key genes (MoPAL, Mo4CL, and MoRAS) in Iranian lemon balm ecotypes, as first reported. Our results revealed that MeJA doses significantly increase the RA content, TPC, and TFC in both ecotypes compared with the control samples. Additionally, the higher expression levels of MoPAL, Mo4CL, and MoRAS following treatment were linked to RA accumulation in all treatments for both Iranian lemon balm ecotypes. After 24 h of exposure to 150 µM MeJA concentration, HPLC analysis showed that MeJA significantly increased RA content in Esfahan and Ilam ecotypes, which was about 4.18- and 7.43-fold higher than untreated plants. Our findings suggested that MeJA has a considerable influence on RA, TPC, and TFC accumulation in MeJA-treated Iranian M. officinalis, which might be the result of gene activation from the phenylpropanoid pathway. As a result of our findings, we now have a better understanding of the molecular processes behind RA production in lemon balm plants.

Highlights

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is a common medicinal herb in the Lamiaceae family.Its sedative, carminative, spasmolytic, antibacterial, and antiviral activities are attributed to the presence of essential oils and phenolic chemicals [1]
Our findings indicate that methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments may significantly hanced the synthesis of rosmarinic acid (RA) in A. rugosa callus suspension cultures, according to Park et increase the amount of RA present in different ecotypes of lemon balm, and that the gene al. [29]
Mizukami et al [31] found a 10‐fold rise in RA. The other hand, these findings suggest that RA levels in lemon balm plants vary depending concentration in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cells treated with MeJA

Summary

Introduction

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is a common medicinal herb in the Lamiaceae family. Carminative, spasmolytic, antibacterial, and antiviral activities are attributed to the presence of essential oils (citral, citronella) and phenolic chemicals [1]. The primary phenylpropanoid component in the medicinal plant M. officinalis has been identified as rosmarinic acid (RA) [2]. RA, the dominant active phenolic compound in. M. officinalis, is an ester of caffeic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid. It is a naturally occurring chemical found in a variety of therapeutic plants and herbs [6]. RA was shown to be an active component in various medicinal plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family, but it may be found in plants from all over the world [7,8]

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