| Lonicera japonica Thunb. (Caprifoliaceae family), an herb used in Chinese and Japanese medicine, is famous for its effective compounds and widespread pharmacological actions (Shang et al., 2011). This special plant is native to East Asia and can be easily grown all over the world. Lonicera japonica is prized in China, Korea, and Japan for its medical functions and beautiful flowers (Miller and Gorchov, 2004). Lonicera japonica possesses anti-viral (Ding et al., 2017), anti-inflammatory (Kwon et al., 2015), anti-bacterial (Rahman and Sun, 2009), anti-tumor, anti-oxidant (Kong et al., 2017), anti-diabetic (Wang et al., 2017), and hepatoprotective (Xiang et al., 2001) properties. It is valuable not only in pharmacology, but also for cosmetics, food, and healthy beverages (Fang et al., 2020; Shang et al., 2011b). The floral buds and flowers of L. japonica are used in traditional Chinese medicine, while the stems and leaves are used in Japanese medicine (Li et al., 2015). This is because different parts of the plant accumulate different chemical compounds with unique properties. Therefore, identifying the genes that participate in the biosynthesis and accumulation of active compounds in L. japonica will allow better use of this valuable resource.
Reference: Shang, X., Pan, H., Li, M., Miao, X., and Ding, H. (2011). Lonicera japonica Thunb.: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of an important traditional Chinese medicine. J Ethnopharmacol 138: 1-21. Miller, K.E., and Gorchov, D.L. (2004). The invasive shrub, Lonicera maackii, reduces growth and fecundity of perennial forest herbs. Oecologia 139: 359-375. Ding, Y., Cao, Z., Cao, L., Ding, G., Wang, Z., and Xiao, W. (2017). Antiviral activity of chlorogenic acid against influenza A (H1N1/H3N2) virus and its inhibition of neuraminidase. Sci Rep 7: 45723. Kwon, S.H., Ma, S.X., Hong, S.I., Lee, S.Y., and Jang, C.G. (2015). Lonicera japonica THUNB.Extract Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Inflammatory Responses by Suppressing NF-kappaB Signaling in BV-2 Microglial Cells. J Med Food 18: 762-775. Rahman, A., and Sun, C.K. (2009). In vitro control of food-borne and food spoilage bacteria by essential oil and ethanol extracts of Lonicera japonica Thunb. Food Chemistry 116: 670-675. Kong, D., Li, Y., Bai, M., Deng, Y., Liang, G., and Wu, H. (2017). A comparative study of the dynamic accumulation of polyphenol components and the changes in their antioxidant activities in diploid and tetraploid Lonicera japonica. Plant Physiol Biochem 112: 87-96. Wang, D., Zhao, X., and Liu, Y. (2017). Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of a polysaccharide from flower buds of Lonicera japonica in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Int J Biol Macromol 102: 396-404. Xiang, T., Xiong, Q.B., Ketut, A.I., Tezuka, Y., Nagaoka, T., Wu, L.J., and Kadota, S. (2001). Studies on the hepatocyte protective activity and the structure-activity relationships of quinic acid and caffeic acid derivatives from the flower buds of Lonicera bournei. Planta Med 67: 322-325. Fang, H., Qi, X., Li, Y., Yu, X., Xu, D., Liang, C., Li, W., and Liu, X. (2020). De novo transcriptomic analysis of light-induced flavonoid pathway, transcription factors in the flower buds of Lonicera japonica. Trees (Berl West) 34: 267-283. Shang, X., Pan, H., Li, M., Miao, X., and Ding, H. (2011b). Lonicera japonica Thunb.: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of an important traditional Chinese medicine. J Ethnopharmacol 138: 1-21. Li, Y., Cai, W., Weng, X., Li, Q., Wang, Y., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., Yang, Q., Guo, Y., Zhu, X., and Wang, H. (2015). Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos: A Systematic Pharmacology Review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2015:905063. |
