Efficient Preparation of Browning-Free Glandular Trichome Tissues from the Surface of Leaves of Rosa rugosa Thunb.

An improved technique for separation of glandular trichomesfrom leaves of rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa Thunb.) was developed.The glandular hairs that had been tightly attached to the tissueof leaf veins via rigid cells were efficiently detached by shakingwith quartz sand dispersed in a solution of mannitol and sodiumascorbate. The mixture of the glandular and simple trichomessuspended in the separation solution was collected by filtrationover nylon mesh (150 mesh), and then it was centrifuged in asolution that contained glycerol. The glandular trichome tips,which were not susceptible to browning, were used for preliminarystudies of cell-free conversions of sesquiterpenes. The glandulartrichomes were found to be a potential source of enzymes associatedwith the biosynthesis and/or bioconversion of sesquiterpenesof R. rugosa. (Received July 28, 1994; Accepted November 11, 1994)