Foliar sprays of salicylic acid induce diosgenin synthesis in the leaves of hellenia speciosa (J. Koenig) s.r. dutta

Abstract

hellenia speciosa (J. Koenig) s.r. dutta, commonly known as spiral ginger, is a potent medicinal plant in the family Costaceae. it has a wide range of applications in traditional and modern medicine with many active ingredients. diosgenin is a steroidal sapogenin obtained from h. speciosa. it is commercially used as an important raw material for the synthesis of steroidal drugs. Foliar sprays of salicylic acid (sa) were used to study the induction of diosgenin synthesis in the leaves of h. speciosa. three different concentrations, 1mM, 5mM, and 9mM, were applied on plants grown in shade net houses. after 60 days of weekly sa application, plants were harvested along with rhizome, dried, and extracted in methanol using the soxhlet apparatus. acid hydrolysis was performed to obtain diosgenin in the extract. the high- Pressure thin layer Chromatography (hPtlC) technique was used to detect the presence of diosgenin in the methanolic extract of leaves. elicitation of diosgenin synthesis was evident in all three extracts obtained from salicylic acid-treated plants. diosgenin was obtained at an rf maximum of 0.58-0.59. the amount of diosgenin was quantified with chromatographic techniques. the maximum quantity of diosgenin was present in the extract treated with 9mM sa. this experiment highlights the effect of stress signals on selected secondary metabolites.