@conference{
author = "Mišić, Danijela and Gašić, Uroš and Šiler, Branislav and Dmitrović, Slavica and Skorić, Marijana and Matekalo, Dragana and Nestorović Živković, Jasmina and Banjanac, Tijana and Filipović, Biljana and Milutinović, Milica and Božunović, Jelena and Aničić, Neda and Petrović, Luka and Todorović, Miloš and Lukić, Tamara",
year = "2023",
abstract = "The genus Nepeta, one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family (subfamily Nepetoidae, tribe Nepeteae) comprises around 250 herbaceous, perennial, rarely annual species, native to temperate Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the mountainous region of tropical Africa. Phytochemical investigations have revealed monoterpenes (iridoids), diterpenes, triterpenes, as well as phenolics, including flavonoids, to be the major specialized metabolites in these remarkable plants. The chemical richness of terpenoids and phenolics in catmints plays functional roles in nature, facilitating complex interactions with insects, phytopathogens, and other co-occurring plants. On the other hand, Nepeta species are used widely by humans as medicines, flavor additives, fragrances, and toys for cats, and their extensively studied bioactivities are mainly assigned to iridoid monoterpenoids nepetalactones. These compounds are proven repellents against insects (e.g. mosquitos, cockroaches, ticks, flies, mites, termites), and promising bioherbicides against a vast array of weeds (e.g. amaranth, ragweed, goosefoot, dandelion).
In spite of the plenitude of fundamental research that has documented the vast bioactive potential of Nepeta species, their commercial exploitation is restrained. There are several important factors that make the commercialization of Nepeta sp. most challenging, including limited bioresources, limited availability of bioactive compounds in purified forms, challenges to optimize the cultivation and standardize the quality of plant material, low number of studies focusing on the effects on non-target organisms and on the mutual relationships of individual compounds, instability and relatively low retainability of volatile nepetalactones, and others.
The challenge ahead is to provide sustainable sources of bioactive compounds of Nepeta sp. and thus establish a background for their commercialization. One of the solutions might be the creation of alternative sources of these biomolecules through synthetic biology approaches, thereby developing microbial or plant systems producing bioactive compounds of interest. Essential prerequisites to achieve this is the comprehensive and simultaneous acquiring, analyzing and interpreting the overall diversity of specialized metabolites within the genus Nepeta, reconstruction of the molecular background of the chemical diversity and elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways, as well as adopting the biotechnology tools to scale-up the production of the compounds of interest.",
publisher = "Sofia: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences",
journal = "Program and Book of Abstracts: Sustainable utilization of bio-resources and waste of medicinal and aromatic plants for innovative bioactive products - ICSUMAP’23; 2023 March 27-28; Sofia, Bulgaria",
title = "Catmints (Nepeta sp.): Biological activities and applicative potential",
pages = "18",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ibiss_5561"
}