Human Gene Expression as a Tool To Determine Horticultural Maturity in a Bioactive Plant (Echinacea purpurea L. Moench)

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• 作者：Ernesto Antonio Brovelli ; Diego Rua ; Haeri Roh-Schmidt ; Amitabh Chandra ; Erin Lamont ; and Giuliana Doris Noratto
• 刊名：Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
• 出版年：2005
• 出版时间：October 19, 2005
• 年：2005
• 卷：53
• 期：21
• 页码：8156 - 8161
• 全文大小：112K
• 年卷期：v.53,no.21(October 19, 2005)
• ISSN：1520-5118

文摘

A phenological study was conducted to determine the impact of harvest maturity on the immune-modulating properties of Echinacea purpurea. The aerial parts of this plant were collected duringseven stages of development and were assayed for a common botanical marker for this species,cichoric acid. Plants of selected development stages were also assayed for total polysaccharidesand compared for their immune-modulating effects on the THP-1 monocyte/macrophage cell line bymeans of a gene expression study. Although the concentration of cichoric acid did not changesignificantly during the course of the study, stage 1 (advanced vegetative) had the highestconcentration of total polysaccharides and exhibited the most potent induction activity on immune-modulating cytokines such as interferon- and tumor necrosis factor-. These findings suggest thatthe use of gene expression may be an effective tool not only to standardize botanical extracts butalso to optimize harvest time.Keywords: Harvest maturity; Echinacea; botanical marker; cichoric acid; polysaccharides; immune-modulating effects; gene expression