Terpene Profiling and Characterization of Terpene Synthases in the Aerial Parts of Aucklandia costus
- 1Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
- 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- 3Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
Abstract
Objective: The roots of Aucklandia costus are traditionally used as medicine and as the main source of A. costus essential oil, with versatile applications in a lot of fields, which has led to the overexploitation of this medicinal plant resource. To address this problem, this study phytochemically investigated the aerial biomass of A. costus, which remains underutilized after harvest, to evaluate its potential as a new source of medicinal components besides the roots. Furthermore, monoterpene synthases and sesquiterpene synthases of A. costus were studied, as its root essential oil is rich in mono- and sesquiterpenoids. Methods: Terpenoids were analyzed and characterized using HPLC, chromatographic separation, HR-MS, NMR, and ECD. The ROS-scavenging activity of the isolated compounds was measured with a DCFH-DA probe in HepG2 cells. Candidate terpene synthases were cloned from cDNA and investigated through phylogenetic analysis, qRT-PCR, and in vitro enzyme assays using geranyl diphosphate (GPP) and farnesyl diphosphate (FPP). Results: Costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone are two marker constituents of the A. costus root. Quantitative comparison of the content of these two compounds between the aerial biomass and roots of A. costus indicated that the contents of costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone in aerial parts are about 15% and 8% of those in the roots, respectively. Four previously undescribed guaianolides 1–4, which are structural analogues to dehydrocostus lactone, were isolated from the aerial biomass, with compound 1 showing a pronounced ROS-scavenging effect in HepG2 cells. Four terpene synthase genes, AcTPS1–AcTPS4, were obtained. Expression profiling indicated the aerial enrichment of all four genes. In vitro, AcTPS1–AcTPS3 accepted GPP and FPP to different extents and generated mono- and/or sesquiterpene products. AcTPS4 was identified as a GPP-specific multiproduct monoterpene synthase. AcTPS3 and AcTPS4 may be related to some reported monoterpenes from the essential oil of the root of A. costus. Conclusions: The aerial parts contain both a sesquiterpene-lactone chemical basis related to the traditionally used root and a diverse terpene-biosynthetic capacity may associated with A. costus essential oil.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026terpene,
title = {{Terpene Profiling and Characterization of Terpene Synthases in the Aerial Parts of Aucklandia costus}},
author = {Huiying Liu and Longgao Xiao and Yongze Zhang and Wangping Tang and Yibo Li and Lei Yang and Xin Fang and Haiyang Liu},
journal = {Metabolites},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/metabo16110849},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/16/11/849},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Terpene Profiling and Characterization of Terpene Synthases in the Aerial Parts of Aucklandia costus
AU - Huiying Liu
AU - Longgao Xiao
AU - Yongze Zhang
AU - Wangping Tang
AU - Yibo Li
AU - Lei Yang
AU - Xin Fang
AU - Haiyang Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - Metabolites
DO - 10.3390/metabo16110849
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/16/11/849
AB - Objective: The roots of Aucklandia costus are traditionally used as medicine and as the main source of A. costus essential oil, with versatile applications in a lot of fields, which has led to the overexploitation of this medicinal plant resource. To address this problem, this study phytochemically investigated the aerial biomass of A. costus, which remains underutilized after harvest, to evaluate its potential as a new source of medicinal components besides the roots. Furthermore, monoterpene synthases and sesquiterpene synthases of A. costus were studied, as its root essential oil is rich in mono- and sesquiterpenoids. Methods: Terpenoids were analyzed and characterized using HPLC, chromatographic separation, HR-MS, NMR, and ECD. The ROS-scavenging activity of the isolated compounds was measured with a DCFH-DA probe in HepG2 cells. Candidate terpene synthases were cloned from cDNA and investigated through phylogenetic analysis, qRT-PCR, and in vitro enzyme assays using geranyl diphosphate (GPP) and farnesyl diphosphate (FPP). Results: Costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone are two marker constituents of the A. costus root. Quantitative comparison of the content of these two compounds between the aerial biomass and roots of A. costus indicated that the contents of costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone in aerial parts are about 15% and 8% of those in the roots, respectively. Four previously undescribed guaianolides 1–4, which are structural analogues to dehydrocostus lactone, were isolated from the aerial biomass, with compound 1 showing a pronounced ROS-scavenging effect in HepG2 cells. Four terpene synthase genes, AcTPS1–AcTPS4, were obtained. Expression profiling indicated the aerial enrichment of all four genes. In vitro, AcTPS1–AcTPS3 accepted GPP and FPP to different extents and generated mono- and/or sesquiterpene products. AcTPS4 was identified as a GPP-specific multiproduct monoterpene synthase. AcTPS3 and AcTPS4 may be related to some reported monoterpenes from the essential oil of the root of A. costus. Conclusions: The aerial parts contain both a sesquiterpene-lactone chemical basis related to the traditionally used root and a diverse terpene-biosynthetic capacity may associated with A. costus essential oil.
SN - 2218-1989
ER -