Plants Appear to Be Self-Medicating by Producing Their Own Aspirin When Stressed

Plants are capable of producing their own aspirin, just like you can find yourself reaching for a painkillers when you have a headaches.

The production of the active metabolite of aspirin is regulated by a new study.

In plants, salicylic acid plays a fundamental role in signaling, regulation, and pathogen defense, and has been used for centuries as a treatment for pain and inflammation.

It is usually generated in response to stress by being produced in the tiny green organelles where the process of photosynthesis takes place.

Wilhelmina van de Ven is a plant Biologist at the University of California, Irvine.

To understand the complex chain of reactions that plants perform when under stress, van de Ven and her team performed biochemical analyses on plants.

All living organisms are exposed to environmental stress. If you spend a lot of time in the sun without a sunscreen, your skin can get sunburned.

In the case of plants, there are many stresses. High levels of ROS in plants can be lethal, but smaller amounts have an important safety function.

The model plant was Rockcress. They looked at an early warning molecule called MEcPP, which has been found inbacteria and Malaria parasites.

As a result of MEcPP accumulating in a plant, it causes a chemical reaction and response, which includes salicylic acid.

Plants could be modified to be more resistant to environmental dangers.

Jin-Zheng Wang says that the production of protective hormones such as salicylic acid can be achieved at non-lethal levels. ROS are two swords.

Gaining knowledge can be used to improve crop resistance. That will be important for the food supply in the future.

Understanding how the MEcPP molecule works could help scientists harness it for their own use and produce plants that are better able to cope with stresses.

It's not clear how many species are going to be able to survive as average temperatures keep on climbing, because we know that plants and animals are under an increasing amount of pressure.

Plants are being stressed out by high heat, constant sunlight, and a lack of water, and of course, if they are in trouble, so are we.

The impacts go beyond our food.

Plants sequester carbon dioxide, give us shade, and provide habitat for many animals. There are many benefits to boosting their survival.

The research was published in a journal.