GERMPLASM & PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILING/NIKOLAU, BASIL

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Core A of the Iowa Center for Botanical Supplement Research has five long-term objectives in support of the research being conducted within the Center to improve our understanding of the human health benefits and potential risks of the dietary supplements, Echinacea, Hypericum, and Prunella. First, we will expand comprehensive plant germplasm collections of Echinacea and Hypericum, and develop collections of Prunella, in a manner designed to represent a broad range of taxonomic,genetic and biochemical diversity, and to propagate the plants through control-pollinated seed production and vegetative means. In this way, these well-documented and characterized plant collections will be made available for research by Center investigators and the broader research community. Second, we will actively curate these medicinal plant germplasm collections at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) as part of the US National Plant Germplasm System, along with all data associated with their origins, taxonomic identities, and biochemical characteristics, which will be made available via the Internet in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) database. Third, we will produce vegetative materials of known-source populations of these plants under controlled conditions at the NCRPIS, through both field and controlled-environment culture, to serve as well- characterized plant materials for the Center's research projects. Fourth, we will conduct fingerprint analyses and chemical identification of the phytochemicals found in these plants by conducting analytical research at Iowa State University's W.M. Keck Metabolomics Research Laboratory. And finally, we will survey the effects of environmental and developmental cues on the phytochemical fingerprints of germplasm collections of Echinacea, Hypericum, Prunella, focusing on Prunella, where little is known about the roles of environment and plant development on its chemical profiles. These core activities provide valuable tools that allow researchers, who study the bioactive and toxic components of these botanical supplements, methods for sorting out variation among plant species and populations being used as sources for these supplements. This has been a complicating factor in the study of all botanical supplements. By using known-source materials that are well characterized biochemically, Center researchers can more efficiently identify bioactive components, and make recommendations that lead to better clinical trials to maximize the human health benefits from these supplements while minimizing risks to consumers.