Incorporation of ¹³C-Labelled 5-epi-Aristolochene into Capsidiol in Green Pepper Seedlings

Abstract

As a part of investigations on the biosynthesis and induction mechanisms of capsidiol, a green pepper phytoalexin, we focussed our attention on the enzymatic oxidation of 5-epi-aristolochene, a non-oxidized elemophilane biosynthetic intermediate, to capsidiol. We examined the optimum conditions for capsidiol production and the direct incorporation of 5-epi-aristolochene into capsidiol for enzymatic study. We found that green pepper seedlings were easily prepared and produced a large amount of capsidiol, and that it directly converted ¹³C-labelled 5-epi-aristolochene to capsidiol in 42%.