Antioxidant responses under jasmonic acid elicitation comprise enhanced production of flavonoids and anthocyanins in Jatropha curcas leaves

• Published in: Acta physiologiae plantarum 2017-08, Vol.39 (8), p.1-10, Article 165
• Main Authors: Lucho-Constantino, Gonzalo G., Zaragoza-Martínez, Fabiola, Ponce-Noyola, Teresa, Cerda-García-Rojas, Carlos M., Trejo-Tapia, Gabriela, Esparza-García, Fernando, Ramos-Valdivia, Ana C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Ammonia; Anthocyanins; Antioxidants; Ascorbic acid; Biodiesel fuels; Biofuels; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Catalase; Diesel; Environmental conditions; Flavonoids; Foliar applications; Hydrogen peroxide; Jasmonic acid; Kaempferol; L-Ascorbate peroxidase; Leaves; Life Sciences; Metabolites; Original Article; Peroxidase; Phenylalanine; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Biochemistry; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plants; Plants (botany); Secondary metabolites
• ISSN: 0137-5881; 1861-1664
• DOI: 10.1007/s11738-017-2461-2

Jatropha curcas has significant potential for production of biodiesel and secondary metabolites with medical applications. The effect of jasmonic acid (JA) on flavonoid production and antioxidant responses in two Mexican J. curcas plants (accessions I-64 and I-52), growing under controlled environmental conditions, was studied. Foliar application of JA (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mM) increased flavonoid content by 3.3-fold (445.6 ± 62.2 µg QE g −1 DW) at 1.0 mM in the I-64 accession after 120 h. At this time, individual flavonoid levels of kaempferol, apigenin, and vitexin were 6.8 (106.8 ± 18.6 µg g −1 DW), 4.4 (15.5 ± 1.5 µg g −1 DW), and 8.1 (6.27 ± 1.3 µg g −1 DW) times higher than in the controls, while for the I-52 specimens, the highest increase of flavonoids occurred at 24 h. In treated I-52 plants, enhancement of 58% (74.7 ± 9.2 µg g −1 DW) in anthocyanins occurred after 120 h, while in I-64 plants, they remained similar to controls. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase showed a peak of activity after 120 h in treated I-64 plants, while the I-52 accession showed peaks at 24 and 120 h. Elicited I-64 plants presented H 2 O 2 levels similar to controls with a 30.6% increase in catalase (CAT) and 3.3-fold in ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities. In elicited I-52 plants, a 2.4-fold increase in H 2 O 2 concentration was related to a 65.6% decrease of CAT and a 1.8-fold increase of APX activities. Therefore, under JA elicitation, J. curcas plants increased antioxidant responses including flavonoid and anthocyanin production to maintain cell redox balance.