Methyl jasmonate treatment increases podophyllotoxin production in Podophyllum hexandrum roots under glasshouse conditions

The endangered Podophyllum hexandrum is an important industrial source of podophyllotoxin, which is a precursor for the anticancer drugs etoposide and teniposide. Attempts to obtain podophyllotoxin through cell cultures or chemical synthesis have still a long way to go before being economical feasible. The objective of this study was to increase the root formation and podophyllotoxin production of P. hexandrum cultivated in a glasshouse.

Root formation and podophyllotoxin production of P. hexandrum in sand or peat-perlite soil at 15 A degrees C or 25 A degrees C was determined. Furthermore, the influence of methyl jasmonate on the podophyllotoxin production was determined.

More root formation was observed in peat-perlite soil than in sand soil. Furthermore, root formation was higher at 15 A degrees C than at 25 A degrees C. This resulted in the highest podophyllotoxin production per plant in peat-perlite at 15 A degrees C (160 +/- 22 mg/plant d.w.). Furthermore, methyl jasmonate treatment of the leaves increased the podophyllotoxin production in the roots by 21%.

We were able to cultivate P. hexandrum in a glasshouse in the Netherlands and improve the root formation and podophyllotoxin production. This paves the way for large-scale cultivation of P. hexandrum in the temperate latitudes for the production of the pharmaceutical interesting podophyllotoxin.