Chiba University et al. Discover Key Genes for Medicinal Ingredients of Garlic-University Journal Online

　Garlic known as a health food.It has been used medicinally all over the world for a long time, and in recent years, it has been attracting attention for its carcinogenic suppression and cardiovascular disease improvement effects.The pharmacological and health functional effects of garlic are due to the sulfur-containing compound alliin produced by garlic.Due to its pharmaceutical importance, research aimed at elucidating the biosynthetic mechanism of alliin has been conducted since the 1960s, but the enzyme genes involved in biosynthesis have not been elucidated.

This time, Assistant Professor Naoko Yoshimoto and Professor Kazuki Saito of Chiba University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences have collaborated with RIKEN, House Foods Group Headquarters Co., Ltd., and Yunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Announced that it was discovered for the first time in.The research group isolated AsFMO1 as a candidate gene for garlic sulfur atom oxidase, and revealed that this gene is an important enzyme gene involved in alliin biosynthesis expressed in various tissues of garlic.In the intracellular of garlic, AsFMO1 is thought to oxidize S-allylcysteine produced from the starting substance glutathione to produce alliin.

By introducing this gene into plants and microorganisms, it can be expected to be applied to industries such as efficient production of sulfur-containing compounds such as alliin, development into drug discovery, and breeding of garlic containing a large amount of these.This research result was published in the online version (dated August XNUMX, Japan time) prior to being published in the British scientific journal "The Plant Journal".

Source:[Chiba University] Discovering the key genes that make medicinal ingredients for garlic-Expectations for efficient production, drug discovery, and breeding of medicinal and health functional ingredients- (PDF)