Kinetin — 45 years on

Kinetin (N 6 -furfuryladenine) was the first cytokinin to be isolated almost 45 years ago from DNA as an artifactual rearrangement product of the autoclaving process. Since then its chemical structure and properties have been well described. Most importantly, a wide variety of biological effects of kinetin, including those on gene expression, on inhibition of auxin action, on stimulation of calcium flux, on cell cycle, and as an anti-stress and anti-ageing compound have been reported. Recently, views on this very well known plant growth factor have undergone substantial modifications. New data have appeared which show that kinetin is formed in cellular DNA as the product of the oxidative, secondary modification of DNA. Although the biological significance of the endogenous kinetin and the molecular mechanisms of its action are not completely understood at present, most of the experimental data point toward kinetin acting as a strong antioxidant in vitro and in vivo, with potential beneficial uses in agriculture and human healthcare.