Identification of an anti-plant-virus molecule in Alpinia zerumbet

• Main Authors: Tadashi Hatanaka, Mari Narusaka, Misugi Uraji, Yasuyuki Yamaji, Yoshihiro Narusaka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2021-02-01
• Series: Bioresources and Bioprocessing
• Subjects: Alpinia zerumbet; Shell ginger; Proanthocyanidin; Anti-plant-virus molecule
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40643-021-00371-9

Abstract In plants, viral diseases are second only to fungal diseases in terms of occurrence, and cause substantial damage to agricultural crops. The aqueous extracts of shell ginger, Alpinia zerumbet exhibit inhibitory effects against virus infections in belonging to the Solanaceae family. In this study, we isolated an anti-plant-virus molecule from the extracts using a conventional method involving a combination of reversed phase column chromatography, dialysis, and lyophilization. The anti-plant-virus molecule was identified as proanthocyanidin, which mostly consisted of epicatechin and exhibited more than 40 degrees of polymerization.