Abstract
Cichorium intybus L. (Asteraceae) is an important industrial crop, as well as a medicinal plant which produces some bioactive compounds implicated in various biological effects with potential applications in human health. Particularly, roots produce hydroxycinnamic acids like 5-caffeoyquinic acid and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (di-CQA). The present investigation relates to the use of methyl jasmonate for enhancing phenolic compounds accumulation and production in hairy root cultures of C. intybus. Elicitated hairy root growth rate increased 13.3 times compared with the initial inoculum in a period of 14 days and di-CQA production represented about 12% of DW. The elicitation has also promoted the production of tricaffeoylquinic acid never described in the chicory roots and identified as 3,4,5-tricaffeoyquinic acid by means of nuclear magnetic resonance. Our study confirmed the strong anti-oxidant effect of di-CQA. Our results also confirmed globally a selectivity of action of di-CQA against Gram-positive bacteria, in particular against some strains of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. However, a non-negligible antibacterial activity of di-CQA against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also underlined (MIC = 0.156 mg.mL−1 against some P. aeruginosa strains). The influence of di-CQA has been explored to evaluate its impact on the physiology of P. aeruginosa. Di-CQA showed no effect on the biofilm formation and the production of extracellular pyocyanin. However, it demonstrated an effect on virulence through the production of pyoverdine with a dose-dependent manner by more than 7-fold when treated at a concentration of 128 µg·mL−1, thus suggesting a link between di-CQA and iron sequestration. This study shows that elicitated hairy root cultures of chicory can be developed for the production of di-CQA, a secondary metabolite with high antibacterial potential.
Highlights
Phenolics are a group of specialized metabolites synthesized by plants for protection against abiotic stressors such as UV radiation [1] and for competitive warfare against insects, viruses, Antibiotics 2020, 9, 659; doi:10.3390/antibiotics9100659 www.mdpi.com/journal/antibioticsAntibiotics 2020, 9, 659 microorganisms and other plants [2]
This study aims to evaluate the capacity of chicory Hairy root culture (HRC) under elicitation by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), to produce large quantities of caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, which are of interest for the development of biologically active compounds
The hairy root lines of Lactuca virosa could be competitive with the hairy root lines of C. intybus L. because they have a growth index (GI) of 16, but maximum growth is obtained within 30 days of culture, against 14 days for chicory and these cultures produce the same compounds as chicory (CQA and di-caffeoylquinic acid (CQA)), a little more CQA than the hairy roots of chicory but less di-CQA, and as the di-CQA is more antioxidant and antimicrobial than CQA, the chicory
Summary
Phenolics are a group of specialized metabolites synthesized by plants for protection against abiotic stressors such as UV radiation [1] and for competitive warfare against insects, viruses, Antibiotics 2020, 9, 659; doi:10.3390/antibiotics9100659 www.mdpi.com/journal/antibioticsAntibiotics 2020, 9, 659 microorganisms and other plants [2]. Hydroxycinnamic acids (i.e., caffeic, p-coumaric, sinapic and ferulic acids) consisting of a C6 aromatic ring linked to a C3 aliphatic side chain (C6 –C3 ) are widely distributed in the plant kingdom They are rarely accumulated under their free forms and are usually conjugated with acids, amines or glucosides to form esters, phenolamides or glycosides, respectively. Chlorogenic acid ( known as 3-caffeoylquinic acid), obtained by esterification of caffeic acid and L-quinic acid, is widely distributed in plants and is one of the most representative hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives It is highly accumulated in different families including the Solanaceae, Rubiaceae and Asteraceae, such as artichoke (Cynara scolymus), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), tarragon (Artemisia dranunculus L.) or chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) [4,5]
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