Comparison of chemical and molecular characteristics of Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus urinaria species

Abstract

Two species, Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus urinaria, members of the Phyllanthaceae family, have been extensively studied for their valuable bioactive compounds. Among these, phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin are known for their diverse potential health benefits. However, the biosynthetic pathways of these compounds differ between P. amarus and P. urinaria. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed to quantify the concentrations of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin extracted from leaf and stem tissues of the two species. The results revealed significant differences in compound accumulation between P. amarus and P. urinaria. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of six genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway showed higher expression levels in P. amarus compared to P. urinaria. Furthermore, DNA barcoding markers were utilized for divergence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction. Among these markers, the ITS sequence was identified as a promising standard DNA barcode due to its high proportion of conserved sites, making it suitable for variation analysis and phylogenetic studies.