School of Basic Courses of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:686351. doi: 10.1155/2013/686351. Epub 2013 Mar 24.
Gardenia fruit (fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) is used as a natural pigment resource and a Chinese traditional medicine. The white mesocarp turning orange or red that occurs during gardenia fruit maturation arises from the production and accumulation of the apocarotenoids, especially crocin-1, which is derived from carotenoid. Meanwhile, the major medical component geniposide is accumulated in gardenia fruit. To further our understanding of the synthetic and accumulation mechanism for crocin-1 and geniposide in gardenia fruit, the contents of crocin-1 and geniposide and the transcripts of phytoene synthase (GjPSY) profiles in gardenia fruits were examined at various stages of maturation. The concentration of crocin-1 and geniposide in gardenia fruit was determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the concentration of crocetin-1 was increased during fruit development and the concentration of geniposide does not change significantly during maturing. The expression levels of GjPSY mRNA were examined by RT-PCR. It was revealed that GjPSY was constitutively expressed during fruit development, suggesting that the primary mechanism that controls crocin accumulation in G. jasminoides fruits during development is not correlated to the differential regulation of transcript levels of GjPSY gene.
栀子果实（栀子 Ellis 的果实）被用作天然色素资源和中药。栀子果实成熟过程中白色中果皮变成橙色或红色，是由于类胡萝卜素的产生和积累，特别是衍生自类胡萝卜素的藏红花素-1。同时，栀子果实中积累了主要的药用成分京尼平苷。为了进一步了解栀子果实中藏红花素-1 和京尼平苷的合成和积累机制，在成熟的不同阶段，检查了栀子果实中藏红花素-1 和京尼平苷的含量以及类胡萝卜素合酶（GjPSY）的转录本谱。栀子果实中藏红花素-1 和京尼平苷的浓度通过反相高效液相色谱法（HPLC）确定。结果表明，在果实发育过程中藏红花素-1 的浓度增加，而京尼平苷的浓度在成熟过程中没有明显变化。通过 RT-PCR 检查 GjPSY mRNA 的表达水平。结果表明，GjPSY 在果实发育过程中持续表达，表明控制栀子果实发育过程中藏红花素积累的主要机制与 GjPSY 基因转录水平的差异调节无关。
