AIMS: To screen micro-organisms for inducing the production of dragon's blood, which is normally produced by stem xylem and by leaf of Dracaena cochinchinensis, and to evaluate the product by comparing with the standard. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty microbial strains were isolated from D. cochinchinensis leaves. Three of them were confirmed to elicit the leaf of D. cochinchinensis producing dragon's blood after inoculation. Upon elicitation, all of the 6-month-old leaves of the inducible trees produced dragon's blood; 60-70% of the 1-year-old leaves elicited produced the resin. All the three strains were identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioide by morphological and molecular methods. The leaf resin had a similar TLC profile and antioxidant activities to the standard resin. In particular, it had a higher total flavonol content and antimicrobial activity than the standard. CONCLUSIONS: Upon the induction of the screened C. gloeosporioide mycelia, D. cochinchinensis leaf produced dragon's blood with higher total flavone content and antimicrobial activity than the standard dragon's blood. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This work has provided a strategy for producing dragon's blood in a sustainable way using leaves of C. gloeosporioides by fungal elicitation.
AIMS: To screen micro-organisms for inducing the production of dragon's blood, which is normally produced by stem xylem and by leaf of Dracaena cochinchinensis, and to evaluate the product by comparing with the standard. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty microbial strains were isolated from D. cochinchinensis leaves. Three of them were confirmed to elicit the leaf of D. cochinchinensis producing dragon's blood after inoculation. Upon elicitation, all of the 6-month-old leaves of the inducible trees produced dragon's blood; 60-70% of the 1-year-old leaves elicited produced the resin. All the three strains were identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioide by morphological and molecular methods. The leaf resin had a similar TLC profile and antioxidant activities to the standard resin. In particular, it had a higher total flavonol content and antimicrobial activity than the standard. CONCLUSIONS: Upon the induction of the screened C. gloeosporioide mycelia, D. cochinchinensis leaf produced dragon's blood with higher total flavone content and antimicrobial activity than the standard dragon's blood. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This work has provided a strategy for producing dragon's blood in a sustainable way using leaves of C. gloeosporioides by fungal elicitation.