Polyacetylenes from Lobelia chinensis with Dermal Papilla Cell Proliferative Activity and Their Enhanced Production through Elicitation

Abstract Lobelia chinensis is a medicinal plant containing a wide variety of bioactive constituents. In the present study, a 50% methanol extract of L. chinensis significantly promoted the proliferation of human dermal papilla (DP) cells. The n-BuOH fraction was identified as the most active fraction, from which eight compounds were isolated and identified as four polyacetylenes, lobetyolinin (1), lobetyolin (2), pratiallin B (3), and tangshenyne B (4), two lignans, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5) and urolignoside (6), and two nitrogen-containing compounds, tryptophan (7) and adenosine (8). Six compounds (1–4, 6, and 7) significantly stimulated DP cell proliferation, indicating that polyacetylenes are major contributors to the biological activity of L. chinensis. To enhance the production of the major active polyacetylenes, in vitro shoot cultures were treated with various elicitors. Quantitative HPLC analysis demonstrated elicitor-dependent changes in the accumulation of lobetyolinin (1) and lobetyolin (2), with 100 mg L–1 yeast extract producing the highest levels of both compounds. Extracts from elicitor-treated cultures also exhibited enhanced DP cell proliferative activity compared with untreated cultures, suggesting that the enhanced biological activity is associated with coordinated changes in multiple bioactive constituents rather than with the increased accumulation of a single compound. These findings identify major polyacetylenes contributing to the DP cell proliferative activity of L. chinensis and link their biological activity with elicitor-assisted metabolite production, providing a practical strategy for the sustainable production of standardized L. chinensis materials with potential hair-growth-promoting applications.