Effect of Enzyme Inhibitors on Terpene Trilactones Biosynthesis and Gene Expression Profiling in Ginkgo biloba Cultured Cells.

The biosynthetic pathway of terpene trilactones of Ginkgo biloba is unclear. In this present study, suspension cultured cells of G. biloba were used to explore the regulation of the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathways in response to specific enzyme inhibitors (lovastatin and clomazone). The results showed that the biosynthesis of bilobalide was more highly correlated with the MVA pathway, and the biosynthesis of ginkgolides was more highly correlated with the MEP pathway. Meanwhile, according to the results, it could be speculated that bilobalide might be a product of ginkgolide metabolism.