Variations in key artemisinic and other metabolites throughout plant development in Artemisia annua L. for potential therapeutic use

Industrial Crops and Products
Melissa J Towler, Pamela J Weathers

Abstract

Dried leaves of Artemisia annua show promise as an inexpensive and sustainable antimalarial therapeutic, especially for use in developing countries. Along with the potent terpene, artemisinin, many other small molecules produced by the plant seem to aid in the therapeutic response. However, little is known about the ontogenic and phenological production of artemisinin in the plant, and its plethora of other important secondary metabolites. From a consistently high artemisinin-producing A. annua clone (SAM) we extracted and analyzed by GC/MS 22 different metabolites including terpenes, flavonoids, a coumarin, and two phenolic acids as they varied during leaf development and growth of the plant from the vegetative stage through the reproductive, full flower stage. As leaves developed, the maximum amount of most metabolites was in the shoot apical meristem. Artemisinin, on the other hand, maximized once leaves matured. Leaf and apical tissues (e.g. buds, flowers) varied in their metabolite content with growth stage with maximum artemisinin and other important secondary metabolites determined to be at floral bud emergence. These results indicated that plants at the floral bud stage have the highest level of artemisinin and other th...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 26, 2015·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Jie-Chao LiuZhen-Zhen Lv
Oct 16, 2015·Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·Yu Kyung JangChoong Hwan Lee
Jun 13, 2020·Plants·Jonathan GorelickNirit Bernstein
Sep 3, 2017·Journal of Ethnopharmacology·Matthew R Desrosiers, Pamela J Weathers
Jul 31, 2020·Journal of Ethnopharmacology·Maria Carla MartiniScarlet S Shell

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Antimalarial Agents (ASM)

Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.

Antimalarial Agents

Antimalarial agents, also known as antimalarials, are designed to prevent or cure malaria. Discover the latest research on antimalarial agents here.