POSSIBILITIES OF PRACTICAL USE OF JASMONATES IN PRODUCTION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Abstract

Jasmonates, mostly jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (JA-Me), are important signal transducers and greatly stimulate the biosynthesis of a wide range of secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures and in different intact plants. In this review we focused on the role of jasmonates in regulation of some physiological processes in growth and development of fruits and vegetables. For example, preharvest application of JA-Me improved fruit quality of blackberry and strawberry by stimulation of the biosynthesis of flavonoids and anthocyanins, and increased antioxidant capacities. In the case of sweet basil, JA-Me enhanced accumulation of alkaloids, terpenoids and phenolics. Moreover, JA-Me has been demonstrated to increase anthocyanin content in apple and strawberry fruits. It is well known that flavonoids, mostly anthocyanins, show preventive and therapeutic activities in many illness, for example extracts of blackberry fruits showed anticancer activity against human lung cells and leukemia cells. Besides, it has been found that exogenous JA-Me inhibits lycopene in tomatoes and stimulates β-carotene accumulation in tomatoes, apples, banana, guava, mango, and greatly stimulates ethylene production in tomatoes at different stages of ripening, as well as in preclimacteric apples, Japanese plum, and mangoes. JA-Me appears to be effective in reducing chilling injury in avocados, grapefruits, mangoes, peppers, cucumbers and others. JA-Me inhibits postharvest sprouting and improves storage quality of radishes. It is interesting also that JA-Me extends shelf life and reduces microbial contamination of fresh-cut celery, peppers, pineapple and tomatoes. Cooperative cross-talk among jasmonates and other phytohormones, especially ethylene occurs in regulation of growth and development and in defence responses against a wide of abiotic and biotic stressors. Moreover, it should be mentioned that jasmonates have medical importance due to inducing suppression of proliferation and death in several human cancer cells (leukemia, prostate, breast, lung and melanoma cell lines). These recently published findings suggest that the natural jasmonates may potentially be a novel class of anticancer drugs.