Molecular activities, biosynthesis and evolution of triterpenoid saponins
- PMID:21333312
- DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2011.01.015
Molecular activities, biosynthesis and evolution of triterpenoid saponins
Abstract
Saponins are bioactive compounds generally considered to be produced by plants to counteract pathogens and herbivores. Besides their role in plant defense, saponins are of growing interest for drug research as they are active constituents of several folk medicines and provide valuable pharmacological properties. Accordingly, much effort has been put into unraveling the modes of action of saponins, as well as in exploration of their potential for industrial processes and pharmacology. However, the exploitation of saponins for bioengineering crop plants with improved resistances against pests as well as circumvention of laborious and uneconomical extraction procedures for industrial production from plants is hampered by the lack of knowledge and availability of genes in saponin biosynthesis. Although the ability to produce saponins is rather widespread among plants, a complete synthetic pathway has not been elucidated in any single species. Current conceptions consider saponins to be derived from intermediates of the phytosterol pathway, and predominantly enzymes belonging to the multigene families of oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs), cytochromes P450 (P450s) and family 1 UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are thought to be involved in their biosynthesis. Formation of unique structural features involves additional biosynthetical enzymes of diverse phylogenetic background. As an example of this, a serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferase (SCPL) was recently found to be involved in synthesis of triterpenoid saponins in oats. However, the total number of identified genes in saponin biosynthesis remains low as the complexity and diversity of these multigene families impede gene discovery based on sequence analysis and phylogeny. This review summarizes current knowledge of triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis in plants, molecular activities, evolutionary aspects and perspectives for further gene discovery.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
- P450s and UGTs: Key Players in the Structural Diversity of Triterpenoid Saponins.Seki H, Tamura K, Muranaka T.Seki H, et al.Plant Cell Physiol. 2015 Aug;56(8):1463-71. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcv062. Epub 2015 May 6.Plant Cell Physiol. 2015.PMID:25951908Free PMC article.Review.
- Identification and genome organization of saponin pathway genes from a wild crucifer, and their use for transient production of saponins in Nicotiana benthamiana.Khakimov B, Kuzina V, Erthmann PØ, Fukushima EO, Augustin JM, Olsen CE, Scholtalbers J, Volpin H, Andersen SB, Hauser TP, Muranaka T, Bak S.Khakimov B, et al.Plant J. 2015 Nov;84(3):478-90. doi: 10.1111/tpj.13012.Plant J. 2015.PMID:26333142
- Biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins in plants.Haralampidis K, Trojanowska M, Osbourn AE.Haralampidis K, et al.Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2002;75:31-49. doi: 10.1007/3-540-44604-4_2.Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2002.PMID:11783842Review.
- Functional characterization of genes related to triterpene and flavonoid biosynthesis in Cyclocarya paliurus.Zhang SY, Peng YQ, Xiang GS, Song WL, Feng L, Jiang XY, Li XJ, He SM, Yang SC, Zhao Y, Zhang GH.Zhang SY, et al.Planta. 2024 Jan 29;259(2):50. doi: 10.1007/s00425-023-04282-1.Planta. 2024.PMID:38285114
- [The glycosyltransferases involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis: a review].Zhou C, Gong T, Chen J, Chen T, Yang J, Zhu P.Zhou C, et al.Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao. 2022 Mar 25;38(3):1004-1024. doi: 10.13345/j.cjb.210587.Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao. 2022.PMID:35355470Review.Chinese.
Cited by
- Evaluation on Anti-Inflammatory, Analgesic, Antitumor, and Antioxidant Potential of Total Saponins from Nigella glandulifera Seeds.Zhao J, Xu F, Huang H, Gu Z, Wang L, Tan W, He J, Chen Y, Li C.Zhao J, et al.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:827230. doi: 10.1155/2013/827230. Epub 2013 Feb 20.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013.PMID:23533525Free PMC article.
- Panax notoginseng: panoramagram of phytochemical and pharmacological properties, biosynthesis, and regulation and production of ginsenosides.Wei G, Zhang G, Li M, Zheng Y, Zheng W, Wang B, Zhang Z, Zhang X, Huang Z, Wei T, Shi L, Chen S, Dong L.Wei G, et al.Hortic Res. 2024 Jul 2;11(8):uhae170. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae170. eCollection 2024 Aug.Hortic Res. 2024.PMID:39135729Free PMC article.Review.
- Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses identify a role for chlorophyll catabolism and phytoalexin during Medicago nonhost resistance against Asian soybean rust.Ishiga Y, Uppalapati SR, Gill US, Huhman D, Tang Y, Mysore KS.Ishiga Y, et al.Sci Rep. 2015 Aug 12;5:13061. doi: 10.1038/srep13061.Sci Rep. 2015.PMID:26267598Free PMC article.
- Yeast lacking the sterol C-5 desaturase Erg3 are tolerant to the anti-inflammatory triterpenoid saponin escin.Johnston EJ, Tallis J, Cunningham-Oakes E, Moses T, Moore SJ, Hosking S, Rosser SJ.Johnston EJ, et al.Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 21;13(1):13617. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-40308-0.Sci Rep. 2023.PMID:37604855Free PMC article.
- Carbohydrate structure database merged from bacterial, archaeal, plant and fungal parts.Toukach PV, Egorova KS.Toukach PV, et al.Nucleic Acids Res. 2016 Jan 4;44(D1):D1229-36. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkv840. Epub 2015 Aug 18.Nucleic Acids Res. 2016.PMID:26286194Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Related information
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Research Materials