Distribution, taxonomy, phylogeny, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and artificial cultivation of tribe Podophylleae for podophyllotoxin production

Abstract

Podophyllotoxin (PPT) is an aryltetralin lignan incipiently found in the rhizomes of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and Podophyllum peltatum. To broaden the industrial use of tribe Podophylleae, the distribution, taxonomy, phylogeny, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and artificial cultivation were summarized. Currently, there are four genera (i.e., Podophyllum, Sinopodophyllum, Diphylleia, and Dysosma) with 13 species (i.e., Podophyllum peltatum, S. hexandrum, Diphylleia cymosa, D. sinensis, D. grayi, Dysosma aurantiocaulis, D. delavayi, D. difformis, D. majoensis, D. pleiantha, D. tsayuensis, D. versipellis, and D. villosa) in the tribe Podophylleae. The key to the genera of the 13 species was renewed based on their morphological characteristics. The phylogeny was constructed according to the chloroplast genomes. There are ca. 43 chemical constituents including: 26 lignans, 9 flavonoids, and other 8 constituents identified from the 12 species (except for the D. villosa). Meanwhile, there is a significant variation in PPT content with a highest level (ca. 11 %) in the S. hexandrum, followed by D. tsayuensis (ca. 1.5 %) and D. grayi (ca. 1.3 %). The PPT and its derivatives are mainly used for chemotherapy agents of cancers. Presently, a large-scale bionic wild cultivation of S. hexandrum has been achieved following good agricultural practices (GAP), and artificial cultivation of D. versipellis has been established using sunshading-net coverage, while the attemptation of other 11 species is on the way. To date, S. hexandrum is the preferred species for the PPT production, and D. versipellis would be the alternative plant materials. Additionally, it is necessary and urgent to find out sustainable approaches to protect the tribe Podophylleae, such as rapid propagation, ecological planting, and rational harvest. This review will provide useful references for the reasonable exploration and utilization of tribe Podophylleae for PPT production.