Occurrence of polygodial in plant organs and tissue culture of Polygonum hydropiper

Abstract

der Plas, L. H. W. 1994. Occurrence of polygodia! in plant organs and tissue culture of Polygonum hydropiper. -Physiol. Plant. 92: 595-600.Shoots of Polygonum hydropiper L. (waterpepper), especially in the leaves and flowerheads, contain significant amounts of the sesquiterpenoid polygodial, a compound with a potential use a.s a natural pesticide. The poiygodia! content of the tepals is particularly high: up to 8.5% of the dry weight. Roots and seeds do not contain detectahle amounts of polygodial. Polygodial containing organs e.g. leaves and tepa!s, were found to contain cavities. Fourier transform infra-red (ITIR) microspectroseopy demonstrated that polygodial or its congeners arc found in these cavities hut not in other tissues or celis. Comparable cavities containing polygodial-li!ce compounds were absent in the closely related species Polygonum persicaria L. Callus cultures and cell suspensions as we!l as root-and shoot cultures were initiated from mature P. hvdropiper plants. Polygodia] could he detected only in shool cultures.Our results indicate tha( functioning plastids may be essential for polygodia! production and cavities for its acctimulation.

Comparative antifeedant activities of polygodial and pyrethrins against whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) and aphids (Myzus persicae)

“…The present authors therefore propose that polygodial represents a potentially valuable biopesticide against whiteflies and aphids and likely a host of other insect pests. Its main advantage is the overall feeding reduction in the case of aphids, as well as the ease by which it can be purified from P. hydropiper , as the flowers contain up to 8% of the compound on a dry weight basis . Even though it is 2–20 times less deterrent compared with pyrethrins, it could nevertheless provide a useful complement to pyrethrin sprays, as it has a different mode of action, is food grade and has low volatility.…”

“…Its main advantage is the overall feeding reduction in the case of aphids, as well as the ease by which it can be purified from P. hydropiper, as the flowers contain up to 8% of the compound on a dry weight basis. 53 Even though it is 2-20 times less deterrent compared with pyrethrins, it could nevertheless provide a useful complement to pyrethrin sprays, as it has a different mode of action, is food grade and has low volatility. However, just as previously reported for cabbage, 15 polygodial displayed a phytotoxic effect when applied to tomato leaves.…”

Identification of a drimenol synthase and drimenol oxidase from Persicaria hydropiper, involved in the biosynthesis of insect deterrent drimanes

“…In that sense polygodial, if formed, may immediately react inside the cells with a variety of intracellular compounds that possess an amine group, which makes it very difficult to prove production of polygodial in a heterologous expression system such as yeast or tobacco. Secondly, in P. hydropiper polygodial accumulates in cavities that are devoid of other cell content (Hagendoorn et al, 1994;Derita et al, 2008). This indicates that the production of the dialdehyde in plants may require a suit of additional factors and secretory structures to prevent the dialdehyde from spontaneously reacting to amino-groups of proteins and to prevent that aldehyde being further converted to form cinnamolide.…”

“…The most common plant in which polygodial occurs is water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper (formerly Polygonum hydropiper) (Starkenmann et al, 2006;Prota et al, 2014). It was reported that P. hydropiper produces and stores polygodial in the leaves and flowerheads in specialized epidermal cavities called valvate or irritant glands (Hagendoorn et al, 1994;Derita et al, 2008;Prota et al, 2014).…”

Polygodial, the fungitoxic component from the Brazilian medicinal plant Polygonum punctatum

“…Previous chemical work with P. punctatum showed the presence of a hemiacetal derivative of polygodial that was inactive against a tick (Boophilus microplus) (Echeverri et al 1997). Hagendoorn et al (1994) demonstrated that in P. hydropiper, polygodial is present only in the aerial parts of the plant. This fact, together with our findings and those of Zacchino et al (1998) and Rahalison et al (1993), allow us to hypothesize that in P. punctatum too, polygodial is restricted to the aerial parts of the plant.…”