The IPB has once again been recognized for its exemplary actions in terms of equal opportunity-oriented personnel and organizational policies and has received the TOTAL E-QUALITY certification for the…
The Plant Science Student Conference (PSSC) has been organised by students from the two Leibniz institutes, IPK and IPB, every year for the last 20 years. In this interview, Christina Wäsch (IPK) and…
Hyperforin is a pharmacologically active constituent of Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s wort). In vitro cultures of this medicinal plant were found to contain hyperforin and three related polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol derivatives. The accumulation of these compounds was coupled to shoot regeneration, with secohyperforin being the major constituent in morphogenic cultures. The structure of secohyperforin was elucidated online by LC-DAD, -MS, and -NMR. In multiple shoot cultures, the ratio of hyperforin to secohyperforin was strongly influenced by the phytohormones N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and naphthalene-1-acetic acid (NAA). While increasing concentrations of BAP stimulated the formation of hyperforin, increasing concentrations of NAA elevated the level of secohyperforin. No differential stimulation was observed after elicitor treatment. Hyperforin and secohyperforin are proposed to arise from a branch point in the biosynthetic pathway.