Ectopic Expression of Litsea cubeba LcMADS20 Modifies Silique Architecture.

Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. (mountain pepper, Lauraceae) is an important woody essential oil crop that produces fragrant oils in its fruits, especially in its peels. Identification of genes involved in the regulation of fruits and peel architecture is of economic significance for L. cubeba industry. It has been well known that the MADS-box genes are essential transcription factors that control flowers and fruits development. Here, we obtained 33 MADS-box genes first from the RNA-seq data in L. cubeba, and 27 of these genes were of the MIKC-type. LcMADS20, an AGAMOUS-like gene, was highly expressed in the developing stages of fruits, particularly at 85 days after full bloom. The ectopic expression of LcMADS20 in Arabidopsis resulted in not only curved leaves, early flowering and early full-opened inflorescences, but also shorter siliques and decreased percentage of peel thickness. Moreover, in the LcMADS20 transgenic Arabidopsis, the expression modes of several intrinsic ABC model class genes were influenced, among which the expression of FUL was significantly reduced and AP3, AG, and STK were significantly increased. This study systematically analyzed the MADS-box genes in L. cubeba at the transcriptional level and showed that LcMADS20 plays important roles in the regulation of fruit architecture.

Volatile Compounds from the Different Organs of Houttuynia cordata and Litsea cubeba (L. citriodora).

The volatile compounds obtained from the different organs of Houttuynia cordata (Saururaceae) and Litsea cubeba (Lauraceae) were analyzed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), Headspace Solid Phase Micro Extraction-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS), and GC/olfactometry (GC/O). The major component of all parts of H. cordata is assigned as 4-tridecanone. Each organ produces myrcene as the major monoterpenoid. The major monoterpene in the rhizomes and roots was ß-pinene instead of myrcene. 1-Decanal which was responsible for the unpleasant odor of this plant, was the predominant polyketide in both leaves and stems. The presence of 1-decanal was very poor in flowers, stem collected in summer, rhizomes, and roots. GC/MS analyses were very simple in case of the crude extracts of flowers. The content of sesquiterpenoids was extremely poor. (8Z)-Heptadecene, geranial, and neral were detected as the major components in Litsea cubeba. Odor-contributing components by GC/O analysis of the ether extract of the fresh flowers of L. cubeba were neral and geranial which played an important role in sweet-lemon fragrance of the flowers. The role of a high content of (8Z)-heptadecene was still unknown but it might play a significant role in the dispersion of the volatile monoterpene hydrocarbons and aldehydes. The flower volatiles of the Japanese L. cubeba were chemically quite different from those of the Chinese same species.

Which Bay Leaf is in Your Spice Rack? - A Quality Control Study.

The accurate identification of bay leaf in natural products commerce may often be confusing as the name is applied to several different species of aromatic plants. The true "bay leaf", also known as "bay laurel" or "sweet bay", is sourced from the tree Laurus nobilis, a native of the Mediterranean region. Nevertheless, the leaves of several other species including Cinnamomum tamala, Litsea glaucescens, Pimenta racemosa, Syzygium polyanthum, and Umbellularia californica are commonly substituted or mistaken for true bay leaves due to their similarity in the leaf morphology, aroma, and flavor. Substitute species are, however, often sold as "bay leaves". As such, the name "bay leaf" in literature and herbal commerce may refer to any of these botanicals. The odor and flavor of these leaves are, however, not the same as the true bay leaf, and for that reason they should not be used in cooking as a substitute for L. nobilis. Some of the bay leaf substitutes can also cause potential health problems. Therefore, the correct identification of the true bay leaf is important. The present work provides a detailed comparative study of the leaf morphological and anatomical features of L. nobilis and its common surrogates to allow for correct identification.

The fungicidal terpenoids and essential oil from Litsea cubeba in Tibet.

A new C9 monoterpenoid acid (litseacubebic acid, 1) and a known monoterpene lactone (6R)-3,7-dimethyl-7-hydroxy-2-octen-6-olide (2), along with three known compounds--vanillic acid (3), trans-3,4,5-trimethoxylcinnamyl alcohol (4), and oxonantenine (5)--were isolated with bioassay-guided purification from the fruit extract of Litsea cubeba collected in Tibet. The structure of 1 was elucidated by MS, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, NOE spectral data as 2,6-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-2E,4E-hepta-2,4-diene acid. Additionally 33 compounds were identified from the essential oil of L. cubeba. The preliminary bioassay results showed that 1 and 2 have good fungicidal activities against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Thanatephorus cucumeris, Pseudocer-cospora musae and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides at the concentration of 588 and 272 µM, and the essential oil has good fungicidal activities against T. cucumeris and S. sclerotiorum, with IC50 values of 115.58 and 151.25 µg/mL, repectively.