Impact of Artificial Polyploidization in Ajuga reptans on Content of Selected Biologically Active Glycosides and Phytoecdysone

Abstract

Polyploidization in plants, which involves doubling or further multiplying of genome, has the potential to improve the constituents that make medicinal plants, like Ajuga reptans, attractive to the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food production industries; botanical pesticide effects could also be derived. The aim of this study was to determine how artificial polyploidization in A. reptans plants affected the composition and quantity of biologically active substances from the glycoside and phytoecdysone families. Diploids and artificial tetraploids of A. reptans were analyzed. Changes in the contents of trans-teupolioside, trans-verbascoside, and 20-hydroxyecdysone were evident in the aboveground parts of the cultivated plants (e.g., leaves and flowers). The tetraploid lines of Ajuga plants displayed variability in, and increased levels of, trans-teupolioside and trans-verbascoside content. The 20-hydroxecdysone content was slightly higher in tetraploids. These findings indicated that Ajuga tetraploids could be used in breeding programs to enhance the yield of substances with potential medicinal and industrial applications.

Exploring in vitro Oryzalin-Induced Polyploidy in Astragalus membranaceus: Implications for Gene Expression

“…In the context of aromatic and medicinal plants, polyploidisation can significantly affect the levels of a wide range of biologically active compounds (Tavan et al 2015a). In particular, such modifications have the potential to facilitate the use of plant extracts in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food processing industries, as well as for botanical pesticide applications (Navrátilová et al 2022). The positive effect of artificial polyploidisation on the secondary metabolite content of medicinal plant species is summarised in Table 1.…”