Defining Diversity in Diterpenoids in the genus Coleus: mining phylogeny for medicinal applications

植物提供了重要的药物，并被视为传统药物，但其作为药物来源的未开发潜力仍在很大程度上未得到开发。该项目将探索与之密切相关的热带植物属-香茶菜属和彩叶草属（唇形科）的物种，这两种植物被广泛用作治疗心血管、呼吸和神经系统疾病的药用植物，并显示出抗菌、抗炎和抗癌作用。这些类群中的许多物种还没有被评估其潜在的药用价值，也没有生物活性二萜类化合物的发生和分布。对二萜类化合物发生和分布的有限了解阻碍了对二萜类化合物多样性和进化的进一步研究，以及鞘蕊花属和香茶菜属植物及其成分的药用科学基础。该项目将通过以下方式填补这些知识空白：挖掘鞘蕊花属植物的系统发育多样性，以开发新药。物种将被选择，以揭示生物合成途径的广度参与合成生物活性化学品（二萜类化合物），并阐明其目前和潜在的药用。这一新知识将为生物多样性的价值提供进一步的证据，并为植物的保护和可持续管理提供激励，从而与防止生物多样性丧失的战略保持一致。

Plants have provided key pharmaceuticals and are valued as traditional medicines, but their untapped potential as sources of medicines remains largly unexplored. This project will explore species of the closely related tropical plant genera Plectranthus and Coleus (Lamiaceae), which have been used extensively as medicinal plants affecting diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems, and have shown anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. Many species in these groups have not been assessed for their potential medicinal value, nor for the occurrence and distribution of biologically active diterpenoids.Limited knowledge of the occurrence and distribution of diterpenoids is impeding further research on the diversity and evolution of diterpenoids, and the scientific basis for the medicinal uses of Coleus and Plectranthus species and their constituents.The project will address these knowledge gaps by mining the phylogenetic diversity of Coleus for new medicinals. Species will be selected, to uncover the breadth of biosynthetic pathways involved in synthesising bioactive chemicals (diterpenoids), and shed light on their current and potential medicinal uses. This new knowledge will provide further evidence for the value of biodiversity and unlock incentives for the conservation and sustainable management of plants, thus aligning with strategies to prevent biodiversity loss.