Abstract
The amount of secondary metabolites in plants can be enhanced or reduced by various external factors. In this study, the effect of strontium ions on the production of phytoestrogens in soybeans was investigated. The plants were treated with Hoagland’s solution, modified with Sr2+ with concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 mM, and were grown for 14 days in hydroponic cultivation. After harvest, soybean plants were separated into roots and shoots, dried, and pulverized. The plant material was extracted with methanol and hydrolyzed. Phytoestrogens were quantified by HPLC. The significant increase in the concentration of the compounds of interest was observed for all tested concentrations of strontium ions when compared to control. Sr2+ at a concentration of 2 mM was the strongest elicitor, and the amount of phytoestrogens in plant increased ca. 2.70, 1.92, 3.77 and 2.88-fold, for daidzein, coumestrol, genistein and formononetin, respectively. Moreover, no cytotoxic effects were observed in HepG2 liver cell models after treatment with extracts from 2 mM Sr2+-stressed soybean plants when compared to extracts from non-stressed plants. Our results indicate that the addition of strontium ions to the culture media may be used to functionalize soybean plants with enhanced phytoestrogen content.
Highlights
Phytoestrogens are a diverse group of nonsteroidal plant metabolites, including three main classes of phenolic compounds: coumestans, prenylflavonoids and isoflavones
Our study shows that strontium stress has a positive impact on production of isoflavones in soybeans and may lead to obtaining plants with an increased level of phytoestrogens
Tetrazolium dye reduction experiments were carried out to verify whether the extracts obtained from strontium-stressed soy were able to affect the growth and metabolic rates of cultured human cells in vitro
Summary
Phytoestrogens are a diverse group of nonsteroidal plant metabolites, including three main classes of phenolic compounds: coumestans, prenylflavonoids and isoflavones. They are produced by many plants such as the red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and the kudzu (Pueraria lobata, Willd.) [1]. Isoflavones belong to derivatives of 3-phenyl-chromen-4-one and, due to the structural similarity to β-estradiol, possess estrogenic activity [7] They decrease the risk of cancer and have antioxidant, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties [8,9]. A relatively high ability of soybeans to accumulate strontium ions as well as absence of toxicity or of negative effects of up to 2.0 mM strontium concentrations on growth and physiological parameters were reported [13]. In order to assess the safety of the extracts to human cells in culture, the HepG2 liver cell model was employed
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