Summary Vitex agnus‐castus L. (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant historically used throughout the Mediterranean region to treat menstrual cycle disorders, and is still used today as a clinically effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The pharmaceutical activity of the plant extract is linked to its ability to lower prolactin levels. This feature has been attributed to the presence of dopaminergic diterpenoids that can bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland. Phytochemical analyses of V. agnus‐castus show that it contains an enormous array of structurally related diterpenoids and, as such, holds potential as a rich source of new dopaminergic drugs. The present work investigated the localisation and biosynthesis of diterpenoids in V. agnus‐castus. With the assistance of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionisation‐mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI‐MSI), diterpenoids were localised to trichomes on the surface of fruit and leaves. Analysis of a trichome‐specific transcriptome database, coupled with expression studies, identified seven candidate genes involved in diterpenoid biosynthesis: three class II diterpene synthases (diTPSs); three class I diTPSs; and a cytochrome P450 (CYP). Combinatorial assays of the diTPSs resulted in the formation of a range of different diterpenes that can account for several of the backbones of bioactive diterpenoids observed in V. agnus‐castus. The identified CYP, VacCYP76BK1, was found to catalyse 16‐hydroxylation of the diol‐diterpene, peregrinol, to labd‐13Z‐ene‐9,15,16‐triol when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Notably, this product is a potential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway towards bioactive furan‐ and lactone‐containing diterpenoids that are present in this species.

Stevia rebaudiana (S. rebaudiana) is a herbaceous and perennial plant belonging to Asteraceae family. The genus stevia is well known as a natural producer of sweetener comprising non-caloric and non-carcinogenic steviol glycosides. In recent years, the capability in producing natural sweetner has increased the demand for S. rebaudiana as substitute of processed sugars. Flowering phase of S. rebaudiana has shown to affect the content of steviol glycosides in the leaves. Steviol glycosides level is the highest at the time of flower bud formation and lowest at time preceding and following flower bud formation. Therefore, sequencing and analysing the genes that are involved in flowering phase will provide platform for gene manipulation in increasing steviol glycosides content. The Stevia transcriptome data that include two stages of growth (before flowering and after flowering), were obtained using Illumina RNA-seq technology and can be accessed at NCBI Sequence Read Archive under Accession No. SRX6362785 and SRX6362784.

Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is a commercially important plant worldwide. The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana contain steviol glycosides which are non-caloric, high-potency sweeteners. They are suitable for substituting sucrose and other artificial sweetening agents. Stevia rebaudiana also has many different therapeutic uses, with antidiabetic, anti-cariogenic, antimicrobial, anticancer and antioxidative properties. Rebaudioside A and stevioside are the major glycosides produced in its leaves. However, development of new varieties of Stevia rebaudiana with a greater content of rebaudioside A and decreased content of stevioside is the main concern lately. This is due to rebaudioside A having a more desirable sweet flavour taste than stevioside which possesses bitter aftertaste. In respect to that many biotechnological approaches are being used for the industrial improvement and manipulation of steviol glycosides content of Stevia rebaudiana. Transcriptome profiling has emerged as a useful tool to identify target genes involved in the steviol glycosides biosynthesis pathway. Understanding the mechanism and biosynthesis pathway of these compounds has further helped to improve the glycosides profile by up-regulating and down-regulating the desired genes. The aim of this paper is to describe the latest development in the transcriptome profiling in Stevia rebaudiana as well as to discuss the methods used in this endeavour.

Stevia rebaudiana is a medicinal plant recommended to diabetic or obese patients as an alternative sweetener owing to its low-calorie property. Previous studies have found that the stevioside level is highest at the time of flower bud formation and lowest at the time of preceding and following flower bud formation. Hence, this study aims to identify the genes involved in the flowering of local S. rebaudiana accession MS007 by investigating the transcriptomic data of two stages of growth, before flowering (BF) and after flowering (AF) that were deposited under accession number SRX6362785 and SRX6362784 at the NCBI SRA database. The transcriptomic study managed to annotate 108299 unigenes of S. rebaudiana with 8871 and 9832 genes that were differentially expressed in BF and AF samples, respectively. These genes involved in various metabolic pathways related to flower development, response to stimulus as well as photosynthesis. Pheophorbide A oxygenase ( PAO ), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit E ( TIF3E1 ), and jasmonate ZIM domain-containing protein 1 ( JAZ1 ) were found to be involved in the flower development. The outcome of this study will help further research in the manipulation of the flowering process, especially in the breeding programme to develop photo-insensitive Stevia plant.

Curcuma mangga and Bosenbergia rotunda which belongs to Zingiberaceae family are largely distributed in South East Asian countries including Malaysia. These plants have been traditionally used for treatment of various diseases. In this research we focused on determining the antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of C. mangga and B. rotunda ethanolic extracts. Initially, in this study, ethanolic extracts from rhizomes of C. mangga and B. rotunda were obtained through Soxhlet extraction method. 12.6% and 3.5% of crude extract were obtained from C. mangga and B. rotunda respectively. For MTT assay, the IC50 values are 207µg/ml and 31.96µg/ml for C. mangga and B. rotunda respectively. Meanwhile for the antioxidant activity using DPPH assay, C. mangga showed higher antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 1073µg/ml compared to B. rotunda with IC50 values of 578µg/ml. It can be concluded both extracts showed low inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cancer cells growth and DPPH free radical activity.

Plukenetia volubilis or commonly known as sacha inchi is reported to produce wide range of health-promoting bioactive metabolites. These metabolites functions as supplements in eradicating various types of diseases. Sacha inchi has large edible seeds that are rich in phenolic content, minerals and essential fatty acid, such as omega 3 (ω-3), omega 6 (ω-6), omega 7 (ω-7), and omega 9 (ω-9). In vitro cultures could serve as alternative in producing many essential sacha inchi bioactive compounds. As an initial step towards initiating in vitro culture, the effect of 2,4-D and TDZ on inducing callus cultures were investigated. Two different explants, sacha inchi leaf and male flower were used in this study. Surface sterilization of sacha inchi was first optimized to overcome culture contamination. The most effective surface sterilization is by using 70% ethanol (30 seconds) and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (8 minutes), which resulted in 82.5% and 95% survival rate for leaf and flower explants respectively. Next, for calli induction the explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-D and TDZ, either alone or in combination and grown at 24 hours dark photoperiods. The morphology and size of callus were observed. The results obtained from the experiment varied depending on the treatments, producing either friable or compact calli of creamy white, pure white or brownish colour. For both, leaf and male flower explants, MS medium supplemented with 3% (w/v) sucrose in combination with 1.0 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.005 mg/L TDZ recorded the best response in term of callus size, forming friable creamy white callus.

Etlingera elatior or torch ginger is a species under the Zingiberaceae family, primarily distributed in tropical forests and humid, shady places. It is a coarse herb often growing in large colonies, characterized by elongated leafy stems up to 5 m height arising from underground rhizomes. It is known as kantan in Malaysia and kecombrang in Indonesia. The inflorescence is famous as an ingredient in Malay, Indonesian and Thai dishes. The extract from its stem is used to reduce swelling, and post-partum women use the leaves while the fruits are used to treat earache, diarrhea, coughs, and mouth sores. Because it has a beautiful appearance, it is also widely marketed as a promising floriculture and horticulture plant. Recently, the rising demand from customers for the versatility and durability of cut flowers has made farmers and the horticulture industry search for new cultivars. Thus, researchers are keen to generate cultivars with various colors, shapes, yields, and longer vase life. This could be done through different techniques such as intensive germplasm collection, hybridization programs, and plant biotechnology techniques. Towards achieving these aims, this review provides current insight on E. elatior from botanical, physiological growth, breeding, taxonomy, ecology, commercial potential, postharvest, medicinal, and food nutritional aspects.

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