Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems
Crocins are potent antioxidants with significant therapeutic potential, exhibiting anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidepressant properties. The ornamental plant Crocos-mia x crocosmiiflora is widely cultivated for its aromatic and vibrant flowers. In this study, we identified unique crocins as...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Biotechnology Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215017X25000189 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850184328957394944 |
|---|---|
| author | Lucía Morote Cristian Martínez Martínez Fajardo María Mondéjar López Elena Moreno-Gimenez Ángela Rubio-Moraga Olivia Costantina Demurtas Gianfranco Diretto Enrique Niza Verónica Aragonés Alberto López Jiménez José-Antonio Daròs Oussama Ahrazem Lourdes Gómez-Gómez |
| author_facet | Lucía Morote Cristian Martínez Martínez Fajardo María Mondéjar López Elena Moreno-Gimenez Ángela Rubio-Moraga Olivia Costantina Demurtas Gianfranco Diretto Enrique Niza Verónica Aragonés Alberto López Jiménez José-Antonio Daròs Oussama Ahrazem Lourdes Gómez-Gómez |
| author_sort | Lucía Morote |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Crocins are potent antioxidants with significant therapeutic potential, exhibiting anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidepressant properties. The ornamental plant Crocos-mia x crocosmiiflora is widely cultivated for its aromatic and vibrant flowers. In this study, we identified unique crocins as the primary pigments responsible for the flower's coloration. These metabolites predominantly consist of molecules with eight glucose units, followed by crocins containing six and seven glucose units. To elucidate the mo-lecular mechanisms underlying crocin biosynthesis in C. x crocosmiiflora, tran-scriptomic analysis was performed to identify key carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) genes. Using Crocus sativus CsCCD2L gene as a bait, we identified a CCD transcript from the transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the identified CCD belongs to the CCD2 subfamily, and it was designated as CroCCD2. Functional characterization of CroCCD2 was carried out using bacterial expression systems and Nicotiana benthamiana plants with a virus-mediated expression system. These experiments demonstrated that CroCCD2 efficiently converts the precursor zeaxanthin into crocetin, a key intermediate in crocin biosynthesis. Furthermore, we investigated the bioactivity of crocins and discovered that their anti-inflammatory effects depend on their vehiculation within exosomes or liposomes. This suggests that the transport mechanism is critical for the biological activity of crocins. Our findings highlight the specialization of CCD subfamilies in monocots and dicots for crocin biosynthesis and provide evidence of the anti-inflammatory activity of exosome-transported crocins. This study establishes a foundation for further research into the metabolic network of crocins in C. x crocosmiiflora and suggests that the CroCCD2 gene could be introduced into other crop plants to produce these bioactive apocarotenoids. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56dcbdf7e11d434e86548053b0a455bd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2215-017X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biotechnology Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-56dcbdf7e11d434e86548053b0a455bd2025-08-20T02:17:05ZengElsevierBiotechnology Reports2215-017X2025-06-0146e0089110.1016/j.btre.2025.e00891Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systemsLucía Morote0Cristian Martínez Martínez Fajardo1María Mondéjar López2Elena Moreno-Gimenez3Ángela Rubio-Moraga4Olivia Costantina Demurtas5Gianfranco Diretto6Enrique Niza7Verónica Aragonés8Alberto López Jiménez9José-Antonio Daròs10Oussama Ahrazem11Lourdes Gómez-Gómez12Instituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Montes y Biotecnología. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainItalian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Development, Casaccia Research Centre, 00123 Rome, ItalyItalian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Development, Casaccia Research Centre, 00123 Rome, ItalyInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Facultad de Farmacia, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universitat Politècnica de València), 46022 Valencia, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Montes y Biotecnología. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universitat Politècnica de València), 46022 Valencia, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Montes y Biotecnología. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, SpainInstituto Botánico. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Facultad de Farmacia, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; Corresponding author.Crocins are potent antioxidants with significant therapeutic potential, exhibiting anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidepressant properties. The ornamental plant Crocos-mia x crocosmiiflora is widely cultivated for its aromatic and vibrant flowers. In this study, we identified unique crocins as the primary pigments responsible for the flower's coloration. These metabolites predominantly consist of molecules with eight glucose units, followed by crocins containing six and seven glucose units. To elucidate the mo-lecular mechanisms underlying crocin biosynthesis in C. x crocosmiiflora, tran-scriptomic analysis was performed to identify key carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) genes. Using Crocus sativus CsCCD2L gene as a bait, we identified a CCD transcript from the transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the identified CCD belongs to the CCD2 subfamily, and it was designated as CroCCD2. Functional characterization of CroCCD2 was carried out using bacterial expression systems and Nicotiana benthamiana plants with a virus-mediated expression system. These experiments demonstrated that CroCCD2 efficiently converts the precursor zeaxanthin into crocetin, a key intermediate in crocin biosynthesis. Furthermore, we investigated the bioactivity of crocins and discovered that their anti-inflammatory effects depend on their vehiculation within exosomes or liposomes. This suggests that the transport mechanism is critical for the biological activity of crocins. Our findings highlight the specialization of CCD subfamilies in monocots and dicots for crocin biosynthesis and provide evidence of the anti-inflammatory activity of exosome-transported crocins. This study establishes a foundation for further research into the metabolic network of crocins in C. x crocosmiiflora and suggests that the CroCCD2 gene could be introduced into other crop plants to produce these bioactive apocarotenoids.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215017X25000189CCDCrocinCrocosmia x crocosmiifloraExosomesInflammationLiposomes |
| spellingShingle | Lucía Morote Cristian Martínez Martínez Fajardo María Mondéjar López Elena Moreno-Gimenez Ángela Rubio-Moraga Olivia Costantina Demurtas Gianfranco Diretto Enrique Niza Verónica Aragonés Alberto López Jiménez José-Antonio Daròs Oussama Ahrazem Lourdes Gómez-Gómez Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems Biotechnology Reports CCD Crocin Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Exosomes Inflammation Liposomes |
| title | Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| title_full | Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| title_fullStr | Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| title_short | Montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins: Biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| title_sort | montbretia flowers as a source of bioactive crocins biotechnology tools and delivery systems |
| topic | CCD Crocin Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Exosomes Inflammation Liposomes |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215017X25000189 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luciamorote montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT cristianmartinezmartinezfajardo montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT mariamondejarlopez montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT elenamorenogimenez montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT angelarubiomoraga montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT oliviacostantinademurtas montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT gianfrancodiretto montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT enriqueniza montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT veronicaaragones montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT albertolopezjimenez montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT joseantoniodaros montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT oussamaahrazem montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems AT lourdesgomezgomez montbretiaflowersasasourceofbioactivecrocinsbiotechnologytoolsanddeliverysystems |