XVI International Botanical Congess

The finding of the remarkable effect of methyl jasmonate (MJAA) on promotion of taxane production in cell suspension cultures of Taxus media provided a promising method for industrial production of an anticancer agent, paclitaxel (Taxol?) [Y. Yukimune et al., Nature Biotech., 14, 1129 (1996)]. With a view to seeking more effective compounds, four stereoisomers of MJA and a variety of jasmonate analogs: i.e., methyl cucurbates, JA-amino acid conjugates etc., were prepared in racemic or optically pure forms, and their effects on the cell yields and promotion of Taxol production in the cell cultures were tested. The assay results verified the importance of the stereochemistry and absolute configuration of jasmonate for the high activities. Among the compounds tested, some showed higher activity then that of MJA.