Sustainable production of bioactive alkaloids in Psychotria L. of southern Brazil: propagation and elicitation strategies

ABSTRACT Psychotria is the largest genus in Rubiaceae. South American species of the genus are promising sources of natural products, mostly due to bioactive monoterpene indole alkaloids they accumulate. These alkaloids can have analgesic, antimutagenic, and antioxidant activities in different experimental models, among other pharmacological properties of interest. Propagation of genotypes with relevant pharmaceutical interest is important for obtaining natural products in a sustainable and standardized fashion. Besides the clonal propagation of elite individuals, the alkaloid content of Psychotria spp. can also be increased by applying moderate stressors or stress-signaling molecules. This review explores advances in research on methods for plant propagation and elicitation techniques for obtaining bioactive alkaloids from Psychotria spp. of the South Region of Brazil.

摘要 九节属（Psychotria）是茜草科（Rubiaceae）中最大的属。该属的南美物种是极具开发潜力的天然产物来源，这主要得益于它们所积累的具有生物活性的单萜吲哚生物碱（monoterpene indole alkaloids）。这类生物碱在多种实验模型中可展现出镇痛、抗诱变与抗氧化活性，同时还具备其他诸多值得关注的药理学特性。选育具有重要药用价值的基因型并开展繁育，对于以可持续、标准化的方式获取天然产物而言至关重要。除了对优良个体进行无性克隆繁育之外，还可通过施加适度胁迫因子或胁迫信号分子，提升九节属（Psychotria）多种植物的生物碱含量。本综述探讨了巴西南部地区九节属（Psychotria）多种植物的繁育方法与诱导技术的研究进展，旨在获取其生物活性生物碱。