NADES Compounds Identified in Hypoxis hemerocallidea Corms during Dormancy

Abstract

Soaking Hypoxis hemerocallidea corms in distilled water improved the propagation and development of cormlets, suggesting the potential leaching-out of inhibitory chemical compounds. To investigate the presence of inhibitory compounds, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral data of the leachate from dormant H. hemerocallidea corms were obtained using a 600 MHz 1H-NMR spectrometer. The 1H-NMR analysis led to the identification of choline, succinate, propylene glycol, and lactose, as inhibitory compounds. These four chemical compounds are part of the “Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents” (NADES) that protect plant cells during stress periods, each of which has the potential to inhibit bud growth and development. These compounds are supposedly leached out of the corms during the first rain under natural conditions, possibly accompanied by changes in the ratios of dormancy-breaking phytohormones and inhibitory compounds, to release bud dormancy. The identified chemical compounds heralded a novel frontier in the vegetative propagation of H. hemerocallidea as a medicinal plant, and for its enhanced sustainable uses.