Rauvolfia canescens

Thirty-six plant species tested in cell suspension culture could be elicited by exogenously supplied methyl jasmonate to accumulate secondary metabolites by a factor of 9 to 30 over the control values. Induction by MJ was not specific to any one type of secondary metabolite but rather general to a wide spectrum of low molecular weight substances ranging from flavonoids, guaianolides and anthraquinones to various classes of alkaloids [96]. Endogenous jasmonic acid and its methyl ester (MJ) accumulate rapidly and transiently after treatment of plant cell suspension cultures of Rauvolfia canescens and Eschscholtzia califor-nica with a yeast elicitor [97]. 

When methyl jasmonate was applied to the surface of tomato plants, the synthesis of a defensive proteinase inhibitor protein was induced, not only in the plant to which the application was made but also in nearby plants. In subsequent studies, this compound was shown to have a similar effect with plants of other families as well (Farmer and Ryan, 1990 Pearce et al., 1991). In a series of experiments, it was demonstrated that methyl jasmonate can be a component of interplant communication systems. Octadecanoid precursors of jasmonic acid were able to activate the synthesis of wound-inducible proteinase inhibitors (Crombie and Mistry, 1991 Farmer and Ryan, 1992). Jasmonic acid is a signal transducer in elicitor-induced plant cultures of Rauvolfia canescens and Eschscholtzia californica. Tissue cultures of 36 species of plants could be induced to accumulate second-... 

Rauwolfia is the dried rhizome and roots of Rauwolfia (sometimes Rauvolfia) serpentina (Apocynaceae) or snakeroot, a small shrub from India, Pakistan, Burma, and Thailand. Other species used in commerce include R. vomitoria from tropical Africa, a small tree whose leaves after ingestion cause violent vomiting, and R. canescens = R. tetraphylla) from India and the... 

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