Quantification of artemisinin in Artemisia annua extracts by 1H-NMR

Artemisinin is a polycyclic sesquiterpene lactone that is highly effective against multidrug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the etiological agent of the most severe form of malaria. Determination of artemisinin in the source plant, Artemisia annua, is a challenging problem since the compound is present in very low concentrations, is thermolabile and unstable, and lacks chromophoric or fluorophoric groups. The ain of this study was to develop a simple protocol for the quantification of artemisinin in a plant extract using an (1)H-NMR method. Samples were prepared by extraction of leaf material with acetone, treatment with activated charcoal to remove chlorophylls and removal of solvent. (1)H-NMR spectra were measured on samples dissolved in deuterochloroform with tert-butanol as internal standard. Quantification was carried out using the using the delta 5.864 signal of artemisinin and the delta 1.276 signal of tert-butanol. The method was optimised and fully validated against a reference standard of artemisinin. The results were compared with those obtained from the same samples quantified using an HPLC-refractive index (RI) method. The (1)H-NMR method gave a linear response for artemisinin within the range 9.85-97.99 mm (r(2) = 0.9968). Using the described method, yields of artemisinin in the range 0.77-1.06% were obtained from leaves of the A. annua hybrid CPQBA x POP, and these values were in agreement with those obtained using an HPLC-RI.     

不同产地与类型及采收方法对黄花蒿中青蒿素含量的影响

以来源于重庆、广西、湖南、广东、江苏、陕西等省区的72分种质资源为试验材料,研究不同产地与类型及采收方法对黄花蒿中青蒿素含量的影响,为良种的选育和药材的采收提供科学的依据。结果表明:(1)早熟型与中、晚熟型青蒿素含量的差异显著,其顺序为:中熟型>晚熟型>早熟型;(2)在同一管理条件下不同茎秆颜色的青蒿素含量之间差异显著,其顺序为:白杆型>黄绿秆型>紫秆型>绿秆型;(3)不同产地的黄花蒿青蒿素含量动态变化规律一致,青蒿素含量最高时期为孕蕾期,是最佳采收期;(4)不同部位之间青蒿素含量差异显著,以叶片的青蒿素含量最高。     

Metabolic engineering of plants for artemisinin synthesis

Artemisinin, a natural compound from Artemisia annua, is highly effective in treating drug-resistant malaria. Because chemical synthesis of this natural terpenoid is not economically feasible, its only source remains as the native plant which produces only small quantities of it, resulting in a supply that is far short of demand. Extensive efforts have been invested in metabolic engineering for the biosynthesis of artemisinin precursors in microbes. However, the production of artemisinin itself has only been achieved in plants. Since, A. annua possesses only poorly developed genetic resources for traditional breeders, molecular breeding is the best alternative. In this review, we describe the efforts taken to enhance artemisinin production in A. annua via transgenesis and advocate metabolic engineering of the complete functional artemisinin metabolic pathway in heterologous plants. In both cases, we emphasize the need to apply state-of-the-art synthetic biology approaches to ensure successful biosynthesis of the drug.     

TLC-densitometric analysis of artemisinin for the rapid screening of high-producing plantlets of Artemisia annua L

A simple TLC-densitometric technique has been developed for the rapid and accurate analysis of artemisinin in a large number of Artemisia annua plantlets cultured in vitro. This new analytical method is based on the structural conversion of artemisinin on a silica gel layer by ammonia vapour to form 10-azadesoxyartemisinin, a chromophore-containing compound (lambdamax 320 nm) that can be detected by UV-based TLC densitometry. The TLC system was evaluated quantitatively in terms of product stability, precision, accuracy and calibration. Good linearity was obtained in the range of 0.01-0.12 microg artemisinin. The technique appeared to be accurate and sensitive as compared with the complicated pre-column reaction-HPLC technique. Among 90 samples of A. annua plantlets, the artemisinin content in the leaves appeared to be highly variable, ranging from 0.02 to 0.67% w/w dry weight. These results demonstrate that densitometric TLC can be a cheap and simple technique for the accurate screening of high-artemisinin-producing plants.     

State of the art of the production of the antimalarial compound artemisinin in plants

For more than three centuries we have relied on the extracts of the bark of Cinchona species to treat malaria. Now, it seems we may be changing to the leaves of a Chinese weed, Artemisia annua, and its active compound artemisinin. Artemisinin-derived drugs have been proved particularly effective treatments for severe malaria, even for multi-drug-resistant malaria. However, this promising antimalarial compound remains expensive and is hardly available on a global scale. Therefore, many research groups have directed their investigations toward the enhancement of artemisinin production in A. annua cell cultures or whole plants in order to overproduce artemisinin or one of its precursors. This article provides a brief review of the state of art of the different aspects in A. annua research.     

青蒿毛状根生长、青蒿素合成以及 营养物消耗的动力学

诱导产生的青蒿毛状根培养物置于MS培养基(含30 g/L蔗糖)进行悬浮培养,并对悬浮培养过程中毛状根生长、青蒿素合成、蔗糖、磷酸盐和不同氮源的消耗、pH和电导率的动力学过程进行分析。经30 d培养,生物量干重和青蒿素产量分别达到13.7 g/L和0.23 g/L,碳源和氮源在培养过程中被逐渐利用,而磷酸盐的利用速率最快,培养至15 d所有的磷酸盐均被吸收,pH在培养初期降低,后又逐渐上升,电导率由于毛状根生长对无机离子的吸收而逐渐减低。     

温度对青蒿毛状根生长和青蒿素生物合成的影响

本实验研究了不同温度(15℃～35℃)对青蒿毛状根生长和青蒿素生物合成的影响,发现25℃有利于毛状根生长,30℃促进了青蒿素生物合成。通过温度改变的二步培养技术(培养前20d温度控制在25℃,后10d温度提高到30℃),青蒿素的产量得到明显提高,高于在恒温培养时(25℃或30℃)的结果。     

衍生化条件的优化及不同产地青蒿中青蒿素含量的柱前衍生化-HPLC法测定

Derivation conditions of pre-column derivation-HPLC method used for determinating artemisinin content were compared and selected,and artemisinin content in above-ground part of Artemisia annua L.from seventeen locations was compared by optimal pre-column derivation-HPLC method.The optimal derivation condition is selected via comparing of 0.2% NaOH solution addition(3,4,5,6 and 7 mL),derivation temperature(30 ℃,35 ℃,40 ℃,45 ℃ and 50 ℃) and derivation time(0,2,5,10,20,40 and 60 min) during derivation process.The optimal derivation condition is adding 5 mL 0.2% NaOH solution,then insulating in 40 ℃ water bath for 10 min.Differences of artemisinin content in A.annua from seventeen locations are obvious,the general trend is that artemisinin content decreases gradually with location from south to north,in which artemisinin content in A.annua from Youyang of Chongqing is the highest with a value of 7.08 mg·g-1.The method is simple and accurate with good reproducibility,and can be used to determinate artemisinin content in medicinal material of A.annua.     

Abscisic acid (ABA) treatment increases artemisinin content in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia annua</Emphasis> by enhancing the expression of genes in artemisinin biosynthetic pathway

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide derived from Artemisia annua L., is the most effective antimalarial drug. In an effort to increase the artemisinin production, abscisic acid (ABA) with different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 μM) was tested by treating A. annua plants. As a result, the artemisinin content in ABA-treated plants was significantly increased. Especially, artemisinin content in plants treated by 10 μM ABA was 65% higher than that in the control plants, up to an average of 1.84% dry weight. Gene expression analysis showed that in both the ABA-treated plants and cell suspension cultures, HMGR, FPS, CYP71AV1 and CPR, the important genes in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway, were significantly induced. While only a slight increase of ADS expression was observed in ABA-treated plants, no expression of ADS was detected in cell suspension cultures. This study suggests that there is probably a crosstalk between the ABA signaling pathway and artemisinin biosynthetic pathway and that CYP71AV1, which was induced most significantly, may play a key regulatory role in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway.     

Nitric oxide potentiates oligosaccharide-induced artemisinin production in Artemisia annua hairy roots

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the generation of nitric oxide （NO） in Artemisia annua roots induced by an oligosaccharide elicitor （OE） from Fusarium oxysporum mycelium and the potentiation role of NO in the elicitation of artemisinin accumulation. The OE （0.3 mg total sugar/mL） induced a rapid production of NO in cultures, which exhibited a biphasic time course, reaching the first plateau within 1.5 h and the second within 8 h of OE treatment. Artemisinin content in 20-day-old hairy roots was increased from 0.7mg/g dry wt to 1.3 mg/g dry wt by using the OE treatment for 4d. In the absence of OE, the NO donor sodium nitroprusside （SNP） at 10, 50 ~1 and 100 ~1 enhanced the growth of hairy roots, but had no effect on artemisinin synthesis, The combination of SNP with OE increased artemisinin content from 1.2 mg/g drywt to 2.2 mg/g dry wt, whereas the maximum production of artemisinin in cultures was 28.5 mg/L, a twofold increase over the OE treatment alone. The effects of SNP on the OE-induced artemisinin were suppressed strongly by the NO scavenger 2-（4- carboxyphenyl）-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-l-oxyl-3-oxide （cPTIO）. The results suggest that NO can strongly potentiate elicitor-induced artemisinin synthesis in A. annua hairy roots.     

氮对黄花蒿生长、光合特性和青蒿素含量的影响

对不同氮处理黄花蒿生长、生物量分配、青蒿素含量和光合特性进行测定,结果表明:(1)供氮量在0～0.4g.kg-1之间,黄花蒿叶片单位重量的氮含量、最大净光合速率、光饱和点和表观量子效率均随供氮量的增大而增加,之后开始下降。在较大范围内,环境氮含量越高,黄花蒿的光合能力越强,能够利用的光强也更高;(2)黄花蒿根生物量分数和根冠比均随供氮量的减少而显著增大,低氮时分配更多的生物量到养分吸收器官,有利于减少氮素对生长的限制,供氮量在0.1～0.6g.kg-1之间,黄花蒿叶生物量分数随供氮量的增加而增大,高氮时更多的生物量投入到碳同化器官,提高了植株的竞争能力;(3)无论以最大净光合速率、地径、叶片生物量还是以总生物量来衡量,均以0.4g.kg-1氮处理的植株生长得最好,0.2g.kg-1氮处理的青蒿素含量最高,生产中推荐使用0.2g.kg-1剂量的氮更经济。     

Improved growth of Artemisia annua L hairy roots and artemisinin production under red light conditions

Hairy root cultures of Artemisia annua L were cultivated for 30 days under either white, red, blue, yellow or green light. Red light at 660 nm gave the highest biomass of hairy roots (5.73 g dry wt cells l^–1 medium) and artemisinin content (31 mg arteminsinin g^–1 dry cells) which were, respectively, 17% and 67% higher than those obtained under white light.     

适于青蒿芽生长和青蒿素积累的光、温和培养方式探讨

探讨了光照、温度和培养方式对青蒿芽生长和青蒿素合成的影响。适宜芽生长和青蒿素积累的光照强度约为３ ０００ ｌｘ,照光时间为２０ ｈ／ｄ ;芽生长和青蒿素积累的最适温度分别为２５ ℃和３０ ℃,通过先２５ ℃（２５ ｄ）后３０ ℃（５ ｄ） 的温度转变二步培养法可以提高青蒿素的产量;青蒿芽生长和青蒿素积累的最佳培养方式为非浸没低转速摇瓶培养。     

青蒿素对蔬菜种子发芽和幼苗生长的化感效应

试验以菜豆、豇豆、大白菜和小白菜为对象,用不同浓度的青蒿素浸种,研究了黄花蒿产生的化感物质??青蒿素对蔬菜种子发芽及幼苗生长的影响。结果表明,青蒿素对蔬菜种子发芽和幼苗生长的化感作用表现出浓度效应和品种差异,即浓度越高,抑制作用愈强,尤以豇豆种子发芽率和小白菜生长的表现最为明显,前者的发芽率可降低75.00%,后者的苗高降幅高达88.37%,且胚根停止生长。青蒿素抑制同季和后季作物的种子发芽和幼苗生长,有利于扩大黄花蒿的生存空间,增强生存竞争优势。在黄花蒿?蔬菜种植体系中,选择抗化感作用较强的大白菜和菜豆可提高土地利用率和整体生产水平。用青蒿素浸种后,蔬菜幼苗的根系活力降低,菜豆和豇豆叶绿素含量提高,而大、小白菜降低,均可视为妨碍生长的生理原因。此外,青蒿素浸种还提高蔬菜种子可溶性糖和游离氨基酸含量,推测青蒿素对种子水解酶活性的影响较小,但抑制合成酶催化的生化反应,导致代谢紊乱,抑制幼苗生长。     

青蒿倍半萜合酶(环化酶)研究进展

青蒿素是从中药青蒿中分离得到的抗疟有效单体,是含有过氧基团的新型倍半萜内酯化合物,是目前世界上最有效的疟疾治疗药物。青蒿素的生物合成途径属于类异戊二烯代谢途径中的倍半萜类分支途径,倍半萜合酶是该途径的关键酶之一,目前已从青蒿中克隆了多个倍半萜合酶基因。综述了青蒿中已克隆的几种倍半萜合酶基因的研究进展。