Effects of methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid on cell growth and cryptotanshinone formation in Ti transformed Salvia miltiorrhiza cell suspension cultures

Exogenous methyl jasmonate (MJ) or salicylic acid (SA) when applied alone failed to induce cryptotanshinone (a phytoalexin) formation in Ti-transformed Salvia miltiorrhiza cell suspension cultures. However, when applied in combination with yeast elicitor, SA at 50–500 M enhanced the yeast elicitor-induced cryptotanshinone formation while MJ reduced the yeast elicitor-induced cryptotanshinone formation. Ibuprofen at 100 M did not inhibit the yeast elicitor-induced cryptotanshinone formation. DMSO was superior to ethanol as a solvent for introducing MJ to the cell cultures.