High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the ajmalicine distribution in roots of catharanthus roseus lines with different flower colours

Investigation of the Chemomarkers Correlated with Flower Colour in Different Organs of Catharanthus roseus Using NMR‐based Metabolomics

“…roseus is grown as an ornamental plant for gardens and parks due to its long‐blooming nature, and is thus of great interest to the flower industry. A paper published some time ago reported a higher level of ajmalicine – one of the many terpenoid indole alkaloids produced by this plant – in roots of plants with red‐eyed flowers than in those of pink or white‐flowering ones (Weissenberg et al ., ). However, no further studies were made on the correlation between flower colour and metabolite profiles.…”

Genetic diversity and alkaloid production in Catharanthus roseus, C. trichophyllus and their hybrids

“…Alkaloids are accumulated in all the tissues but some of them seem to be organ-specific: ajmalicine and serpentine are essentially present in the roots while catharanthine and vindoline are accumulated in aerial parts (Endo et al, 1987;Balsevitch et al, 1988), some of the enzymes involved in the last steps of indole alkaloid biosynthesis being located in the chloroplasts (Luca & Cuttler, 1987) or being lightstimulated (Luca et al, 1988). Moreover, a large variation in alkaloid production is also reported between individuals (Levy et al, 1983;Weissenberg et al, 1988) and differs according to growing conditions (Daddona et al, 1976) and culture stages (Reda, 1978).…”