title: Production of triterpene acids by cell suspension cultures of Olea europaea.
abstract: Olive (Olea europaea) contains large quantity of triterpene acids including oleanolic acid (6) as a major one. Varieties of biological activities exhibited by triterpene acids attracted our attentions, especially from pharmaceutical viewpoints. Cell culture of olive plant was induced and its triterpene constituents were studied. From the cell suspension cultures, six ursane type triterpene acids; ursolic acid (9), pomolic acid (10), rotundic acid (11), tormentic acid (12), 2alpha-hydroxyursolic acid (13) and 19alpha-hydroxyasiatic acid (14), and two oleanane type acids; oleanolic acid and maslinic acid (7), have been isolated. Quantity of ursane type triterpene acids produced by cell cultures was larger than that of oleanane type. Further, a multifunctional oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC) named OEA was cloned by homology based PCRs from the same cultured cells. Major product of OEA is alpha-amyrin (ursane skeleton), showing good accordance to higher content of ursane-type triterpene acids in the cultured cells, and strongly suggesting OEA to be a major contributor OSC for their production.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saimaru
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Orihara
authors.forename: Pimpimon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tansakul
authors.forename: Young-Hwa
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ebizuka
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D019751:Intramolecular Transferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D031658:Olea / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018744:DNA, Plant; D018749:RNA, Plant; D014315:Triterpenes; D019751:Intramolecular Transferases; C021924:lanosterol synthase