Induction of hypericins and hyperforin in Hypericum perforatum L. in response to biotic and chemical elicitors

Abstract

Hypericum perforatum L. produces hyperforins, a family of antimicrobial acylphloroglucinols; and hypericins, a family of phototoxic anthraquinones exhibiting anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-herbivore properties in vitro. To determine whether these secondary metabolites are part of the specific plant defense systems that are mediated by methyl jasmonate or salicylic acid, we used meristem cultures to assess the effects of exposure to exogenous application of these chemical elicitors. Levels of hypericins in plant tissue increased in response to both elicitor treatments; total hypericin levels increased as much as 3.3 times control levels when treated with 200 μ M methyl jasmonate for 14 days. Increased hyperforin concentrations were detected when plantlets were treated with 1 m M salicylic acid or 50 μ M methyl jasmonate. For assessing responses to a biotic elicitor, greenhouse-grown plant materials were inoculated with the plant pathogen, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Levels of hypericins increased twice as much as the control when inoculated with 1 × 10 4 spores per ml; higher doses of spores overwhelmed the plant defenses. The elevation of hypericins and hyperforin in response to chemical and biotic elicitors suggests that these secondary metabolites are components in the inducible plant defense responses of H. perforatum.