UV-B protective effect of a polyacylated anthocyanin, HBA, in flower petals of the blue morning glory, Ipomoea tricolor cv. Heavenly Blue Original Research Article

The protective effects of polyacylated anthocyanin, heavenly blue anthocyanin (HBA), in blue flower petals of morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor cv. Heavenly Blue) against UV-B induced DNA damage were examined. We first clarified the concentration of HBA in epidermal vacuoles to be 12 mM, and then constructed a UV-B irradiating apparatus resembling flower petal tissue to assess the screening effect of HBA. Monochromatic (280 and 310 nm) or broad UV-B induced DNA lesions were reduced completely by the HBA filter to the same molecular numbers as those in living petal epidermis. However, diluted HBA solution and trisdeacyl HBA did not have the same reduction effect. HBA was more tolerant to solar radiation than trisdeacyl HBA. These data strongly suggest that polyacylated anthocyanins in flower petals can screen harmful UV-B efficiently. This action might be largely due to aromatic acyl residues.