Epibrassinolide is a brassinosteroid that can be isolated from various plants and has been shown to decrease toxicity and stimulate healthy plant growth in plants under stress. Epibrassinolide is also reported to be a potential apoptotic inducer in various cancer cells without affecting the non-tumor cell growth. It has also been shown to protect neuronal PC12 cells from 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced oxidative stress and consequent apoptosis in dopaminergic neurons.
The solubility of epibrassinolide in ethanol and DMSO is approximately 3 mg/ml and approximately 5 mg/ml in DMF.
Epibrassinolide has been used:
- in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium to study the cotyledon and shoot length response of Cappelle-Desprez (rht8) and RIL6 (Rht8) plants towards it
- in callus-inducing medium for callus induction
- to induce the expression of the gene leaf inclination 2 (LC2) in rice sampling
ChEBI: 24-epi-brassinolide is a 2alpha-hydroxy steroid, a 3alpha-hydroxy steroid, a 22-hydroxy steroid, a 23-hydroxy steroid and a brassinosteroid.
Two isomeric metabolites, 25-b- and 26-b-D-
glucopyranosyloxy-24-epi-brassinolides, are formed in
tomato cell suspension cultures with endogenously
applied 24-epi-brassinolide. The two-step metabolic
process involves hydroxylation of the side chain at
C25 and C26, respectively, followed by glucosidation
of the newly formed hydroxyl groups. The ratio
between both metabolites is altered by in vivo
treatment of the cell cultures with various cytochrome
P-450-specific inhibitors, indicating the involvement of two different enzyme systems. Biosynthetically
prepared 25-hydroxy-24-epi-brassinolide, reapplied to
the cell cultures, is exclusively glucosylated at the 25-
hydroxyl group, strongly suggesting regiospecificity of
the corresponding glucosyltransferase.
