Establishment of <i>Rhodiola quadrifida</i> Hairy Roots and Callus Culture to Produce Bioactive Compounds

Rhodiola quadrifida is a rare mountain medicinal plant whose root extracts are used in traditional Chinese medicine as a hemostatic, antitussive, and tonic in the treatment of gynecological diseases. The aim of the study was to obtain R. quadrifida cultures at different degrees of differentiation in vitro and compare their growth characteristics and the content of salidroside and rosavin. Hairy roots were obtained by incubating cotyledons and hypocotyls in a suspension of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4. The presence of the rolB and rolC genes was proven by polymerase chain reaction. The obtained roots were cultivated in Murashige-Skoog medium (MS). Calluses were obtained from the hairy roots in MS medium with the addition of hormones: 3 mg/L 2,4 D and 0.5 mg/L BAP. The presence of the main secondary metabolites of R. quadrifida, salidroside and rosavin, in calluses and salidroside in hairy roots by HPLC/MS was confirmed. The content of salidroside in callus culture was significantly higher than in hairy roots, 0.158 and 0.047%, respectively. The content of rosavin in callus culture was 0.07%. The content of rosavin and salidroside in callus culture was close to the level of these substances in the rhizomes of R. quadrifida plants growing in vivo, making this culture promising for its possible biotechnological use.