Production of dragon's blood in Dracaena cochinchinensis plants by inoculation of Fusarium proliferatum

Dragon's blood is a traditional medicine widely used in the world from ancient times. However, little is known about its formation mechanism. This work aimed to gain some insights into its formation mechanism and to control its production. The results demonstrate that wounding plus causal fungal infection and keeping the wound moist are essential for efficient dragon's blood formation in Dracaena cochinchinensis. Two fungal isolates YM-266 and YM-71213 of Fusarium proliferatum increased the yield of dragon's blood in D. cochinchinensis trees by 2.7- and 3.3-times compared to that of the control (wounding alone and keeping the wound moist), respectively. The fungal induced dragon's blood had almost identical chemical constituents to that of the natural dragon's blood with a higher loureirins a and b content as analyzed by TLC and HPLC. In addition, the induced dragon's blood had similar antimicrobial activity and similar or higher antioxidant activity than that of the natural dragon's blood. The novel biological technology developed here for the production of dragon's blood is safe, repeatable, practical, and feasible for the farmers, enabling the production of dragon's blood in a sustainable way without destroying the endangered trees and environment.

Research highlights▶ Two microbial isolates screened from Dracaena cochinchinensis plants inducing dragon's blood production. ▶ Safety evaluation of the fungal elicitation treatment to the plants. ▶ The two isolates were identified as two strains of Fusarium proliferatum. ▶ Chemical constituent and bioactivity analysis of the induced dragon's blood. ▶ Control dragon's blood production in a safe and sustainable way without destroying the plant.