Abstract
Background and aimThe endangered Podophyllum hexandrum is an important industrial source of podophyllotoxin, which is a precursor for the anticancer drugs etoposide and teniposide. Attempts to obtain podophyllotoxin through cell cultures or chemical synthesis have still a long way to go before being economical feasible. The objective of this study was to increase the root formation and podophyllotoxin production of P. hexandrum cultivated in a glasshouse.MethodsRoot formation and podophyllotoxin production of P. hexandrum in sand or peat-perlite soil at 15 °C or 25 °C was determined. Furthermore, the influence of methyl jasmonate on the podophyllotoxin production was determined.ResultsMore root formation was observed in peat-perlite soil than in sand soil. Furthermore, root formation was higher at 15 °C than at 25 °C. This resulted in the highest podophyllotoxin production per plant in peat-perlite at 15 °C (160 ± 22 mg/plant d.w.). Furthermore, methyl jasmonate treatment of the leaves increased the podophyllotoxin production in the roots by 21%.ConclusionWe were able to cultivate P. hexandrum in a glasshouse in the Netherlands and improve the root formation and podophyllotoxin production. This paves the way for large-scale cultivation of P. hexandrum in the temperate latitudes for the production of the pharmaceutical interesting podophyllotoxin.
Highlights
The high demand for podophyllotoxin as precursor for the synthesis of important anticancer drugs has led to the search for alternative sources (Imbert 1998)
As the majority of podophyllotoxin was extracted from P. hexandrum roots in the first three fractions, the final extraction protocol included three consecutive extraction rounds
Podophyllotoxin is the precursor for high value anticancer drugs, such as etoposide and teniposide
Summary
The high demand for podophyllotoxin as precursor for the synthesis of important anticancer drugs (etoposide and teniposide) has led to the search for alternative sources (Imbert 1998). The commercially exploited natural sources of podophyllotoxin are Podophyllum hexandrum and Podophyllum peltatum (Guerram et al 2012). Several researchers reported podophyllotoxin production in the leaves of P. peltatum (Bastos et al 1996; Moraes et al 2000, 2002; Cushman et al 2006; Zheljazkov et al 2011). The leaves of P. peltatum can be an attractive alternative source for podophyllotoxin due to its renewable properties. Podophyllum hexandrum is an important industrial source of podophyllotoxin, which is a precursor for the anticancer drugs etoposide and teniposide. The objective of this study was to increase the root formation and podophyllotoxin production of P. hexandrum cultivated in a glasshouse
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