Increase of secondary metabolites in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves by exposure to N 2 O 5 with plasma technology

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 12759
• Main Authors: Tateishi, Rie, Ogawa-Kishida, Natsumi, Fujii, Nobuharu, Nagata, Yuji, Ohtsubo, Yoshiyuki, Sasaki, Shota, Takashima, Keisuke, Kaneko, Toshiro, Higashitani, Atsushi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 04.06.2024
• Subjects: Eugenol - analogs & derivatives; Eugenol - metabolism; Flavonoids - metabolism; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Metabolomics - methods; Ocimum basilicum - genetics; Ocimum basilicum - metabolism; Oxylipins - metabolism; Plant Leaves - drug effects; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Secondary Metabolism - drug effects; Metabolomics; Plasma technology; Secondary metabolites; Dinitrogen pentoxide; Transcriptional upregulation

Exposure to N O generated by plasma technology activates immunity in Arabidopsis through tryptophan metabolites. However, little is known about the effects of N O exposure on other plant species. Sweet basil synthesizes many valuable secondary metabolites in its leaves. Therefore, metabolomic analyses were performed at three different exposure levels [9.7 (Ex1), 19.4 (Ex2) and 29.1 (Ex3) μmol] to assess the effects of N O on basil leaves. As a result, cinnamaldehyde and phenolic acids increased with increasing doses. Certain flavonoids, columbianetin, and caryophyllene oxide increased with lower Ex1 exposure, cineole and methyl eugenol increased with moderate Ex2 exposure and L-glutathione GSH also increased with higher Ex3 exposure. Furthermore, gene expression analysis by quantitative RT-PCR showed that certain genes involved in the syntheses of secondary metabolites and jasmonic acid were significantly up-regulated early after N O exposure. These results suggest that N O exposure increases several valuable secondary metabolites in sweet basil leaves via plant defense responses in a controllable system.