Medicinal metabolites with common biosynthetic pathways in <i>Solanum nigrum</i>

Abstract

Solanum nigrum is a medicinal plant belonging to the Solanaceae family. It possesses various therapeutic properties such as anticancer, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, antiinflammatory, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and antiseizure properties. Numerous secondary metabolites have been isolated from S. nigrum, including (+) syringaresinol (II), (+)-medioresinol (III), scopoletin (IV), tetracosanoic acid (V), and beta-sitosterol (IV). They also contain a variety of toxic secondary metabolites such as alpha-Solanine and alpha-Chaconine, which are steroidal glycoalkaloids. Here, we showed the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to improve and enhance the plant architecture, secondary metabolites, and therapeutic applications in eliminating toxic compounds, especially solanine and chaconine, in S. nigrum.