Induction of Sesquiterpenoid Production by Methyl Jasmonate in Aquilaria sinensis Cell Suspension Culture

Abstract

A suspension cell culture was established from Aquilaria sinensis, a timber species producing fragrant woody material called “Agarwood.” Methyl jasmonate was added to this culture in order to induce production of fragrant compounds. Cells were harvested after seven days of incubation and subjected to solid phase micro-extraction to produce an extract that was analyzed by GC/MS. Three peaks appeared on GC and were identifi ed as α-guaiene, γ-guaiene (= 1(10),11-guaiadiene), and α-humulene based on their mass fragmentation patterns and ¹³C-NMR data. The production of the guaiene derivatives and α-humulene showed different kinetics, which may mean they are the products of different induced biosynthetic enzymes.

Key Word Index:

• Aquilaria sinensis
• Thymelaeaceae
• agarwood
• methyl jasmonate
• solid phase micro-extraction
• cell culture
• ses-quiterpenoid production