Enhanced production of isoflavones by elicitation in hairy root cultures of Soybean

A combined treatment of sonication (2 min) and vacuum infiltration (2 min) stimulated isoflavones production of 75.26 mg g^?1 DW which was 15.11-fold higher than control hairy root line at optimal harvest time of 40 days. Addition of MeJ at 100 μM concentration with 72 h exposure time on 30 day-old hairy root culture further enhanced total isoflavones production of 53.16 mg g^?1 DW (10.67-fold) and SA at 200 μM concentration with 96 h exposure period enhanced the production of isoflavones (28.79 mg g^?1 DW; 5.78-fold). MeJ-treated hairy roots reduced biomass accumulation whereas sonication, vacuum infiltration and SA did not exhibit a negative effect on biomass growth.     

Improved cardenolide production in Calotropis gigantea hairy roots using mechanical wounding and elicitation

A hairy root culture system of Calotropis gigantea was established and effects of mechanical wounding (MW) and elicitors [methyl jasmonate (MJ), yeast extract (YE) and chitosan (CS)] on cardenolide production were investigated. All treatments stimulated the production of cardenolide in hairy root cultures of C. gigantea. CS was the most effective elicitor, followed by MJ. YE and MW also improved cardenolide yield in individual treatments. The highest cardenolide yield (1,050 ± 55 mg/l) was obtained after adding 50 mg CS/l for 20 days, which was 2.7-fold higher than the control.     

Improved isoflavonoid production in Pueraria candollei hairy root cultures using elicitation

The effect of abiotic and biotic elicitors (methyl jasmonate, chitosan, salicylic acid, Agrobacterium, and yeast extract) at various concentrations on total isoflavonoid accumulation was studied in the hairy root cultures of Pueraria candollei. All elicitors stimulated isoflavonoid production. Yeast extract (0.5 mg/ml) was the most efficient giving total isoflavonoids at 60 ± 1 mg/g dry wt, which was 4.5-fold higher than control hairy roots on day 3 of elicitation.     

Flavonoids from Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora hairy root cultures

Three flavonoids named licoagrosides D, E and F together with four known flavonoids, medicarpin 3-O-glucoside, calycosin 7-O-glucoside, formononetin 7-O-(6"-malonylglucoside) and 2'-hydroxyformononetin 7-O-glucoside were isolated from Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora hairy root cultures. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. Licoagrosides E and F are the first examples of a 6a-hydroxypterocarpan glycoside and an alpha-O-glycosidic alpha-hydroxydihydrochalcone, respectively.     

Flavonoids from Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora hairy root cultures

Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora hairy roots were induced from axenic young plants by direct infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. The chemical constituents were then investigated after mass culture. The isoflavone, licoagroisoflavone and the coumestan, licoagroside C, were isolated along with seven known flavonoids. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidence.     

Psoralen production in hairy roots and adventitious roots cultures of Psoralea coryfolia

Psoralea corylifolia is an endangered plant producing various compounds of medical importance. Adventitious roots and hairy roots were induced in cultures prepared from hypocotyl explants. Psoralen content was evaluated in both root types grown either in suspension cultures or on agar solidified medium. Psoralen content was ~3 mg g⁻¹ DW in suspension grown hairy roots being higher than in solid grown hairy roots and in solid and suspension-grown adventitious roots.     

Repeated elicitation enhances taxane production in suspension cultures of Taxus chinensis in bioreactors

Methyl jasmonate added at 100 M on days 8, 14 and 20 to cultures of Taxus chinensis growing in flasks and 1 l airlift bioreactors improved taxuyunnanine C (TC) production by 50–60% in flasks and by about 80% in airlift bioreactors compared with single addition of 100 M methyl jasmonate on day 8. The final TC production in the airlift bioreactors reached 565±47 mg l^–1, which is the highest reported for taxoid production in a bioreactor.     

Flavonoid constituents from Glycyrrhiza glabra hairy root cultures

An unusual biflavonoid named licoagrodin was isolated from the hairy root cultures of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Leguminosae) along with three prenylated retrochalcones, licoagrochalcones B, C, D, a prenylated aurone, licoagroaurone and four known prenylated flavonoids, licochalcone C, kanzonol Y, glyinflanin B and glycyrdione A. From the glycosidic fraction, a isoflavone glycoside, licoagroside A, and a maltol glycoside, licoagroside B were isolated together with four known isoflavone glycosides, two flavone C-glycosides, and three other glycosides. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence.     

Methyl jasmonate mediates upregulation of bacoside A production in shoot cultures of Bacopa monnieri

Methyl jasmonate (MJ) enhances the production of a range of secondary metabolites including triterpenoid saponins in a variety of plant species. Here, it enhanced production of bacoside A, a valuable triterpenoid saponin having nootropic therapeutic activity in in vitro shoot cultures of Bacopa monnieri, the only known source of bacoside A. The highest yield was with 50 μM MJ giving 4.4 mg bacoside A/g dry wt; an 1.8-fold increase (compared to control) after 1 week.     

Statistical analysis of elicitation strategies for thiarubrine A production in hairy root cultures of Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Elicitation strategies were studied for yield enhancement of thiarubrine A, a secondary metabolite and a potential pharmaceutical, produced by hairy root cultures of Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Abiotic elicitation was performed using vanadyl sulfate solution and biotic elicitation using autoclaved cell wall filtrates of the fungi Protomyces gravidus, a pathogen of A. artemisiifolia and Botrytis cinereae. The factors considered were age of the culture, concentration of the elicitor used and the time period of exposure or contact. Statistical methods were used to determine the strength of the interaction between the various factors and their response on the yield of the secondary metabolite. The maximum increase in the yield relative to the control, 8-fold corresponding to 569 microg g(-1) of biomass, was observed when 16-day-old cultures were elicited with 50 mg l(-1) of vanadyl sulfate for a time period of 72 h. The maximum yield of 647 microg g(-1) was achieved when the cultures were exposed to 5 microM autoclaved cell wall filtrates of P. gravidus for a time period of 48 h. The yield increase was 3-fold in the case of elicitation with autoclaved cell wall filtrates of B. cinereae. The methodology used in this report can be extended to determine the optimum conditions of other elicitors.     

Methyl jasmonate increases the production of valepotriates by transformed root cultures of Valerianella locusta

Transformed roots of V. locusta (Valerianaceae) were obtained through transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains A4 and ATCC 15834. Six known valepotriates, including diavaltrate, acevaltrate, didrovaltrate, IVHD-valtrate, isovaltrate, and valtrate were the major components detected. An LC/PDA method was used in the quantitation of these compounds in the transformed root extracts. The treatment of transformed roots with biotic (methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, yeast extract) and abiotic elicitors (CuSO₄, HgCl₂, CaCl₂) was used as a strategy to improve the production of valepotriates. Methyl jasmonate appeared to be the best elicitor for valepotriate production, yielding up to a 7-fold increase in total valepotriate content, while HgCl₂ had the most deteriorating effect on the production of valepotriates. Salicylic acid-, CuSO₄- and CaCl₂-treated roots showed significant increases in the production at a short duration of exposure; the production decreased as the time of elicitation increased. The highest total valepotriate content achieved in this study was 139 mg g^–1 DW (13.9%) from transformed roots treated for 10 days with 100 M methyl jasmonate. This amount was >50- and 12-fold higher than the values reported from the cultivated plants and callus culture, respectively, and was comparable to the amount reported from the high valepotriate-producing species Valeriana thalictroides Graebn. The production of diavaltrate, acevaltrate, didrovaltrate, and isovaltrate were significantly higher, while the production of IVHD-valtrate was lower and that of valtrate was similar to that of the control. The IVAL/VAL production ratio was affected by the treatment with methyl jasmonate but not by other elicitors. The use of transformed root cultures in combination with the treatment with biotic and abiotic elicitors offer a new route for high valepotriate production.     

The influence of amino acids on the lobeline production of Lobelia inflata L. hairy root cultures

The herb Lobelia inflata L. (Lobeliaceae) containspiperidine alkaloids. The main alkaloid is the pharmacologically-activelobeline. We have studied the effects of alkaloid precursor amino acids (lysineand phenylalanine) on the growth and alkaloid production of hairy root culturesof Lobelia inflata L. The hairy root clone 8009/h7transformed with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain R 1601wascultivated on B5 solid medium containing lysine (Lys) and phenylalanine (Phe)both in the presence and absence of the growth regulators IAA and kinetin. Onthe medium containing hormones growth was delayed until day 14. The applicationof growth regulators to the B5 media containing amino acids either singly or incombination increased the biomass in all cases. The maximum dry weight wasachieved in a medium containing Phe+Lys and growthregulators. The highest lobeline level (36 g/g) was detectedintissues cultivated on hormone-free medium containing Phe. In hormone-freemedia,lobeline production increased in the presence of either Phe or Lys comparedwiththe control, but the addition of both greatly decreased synthesis. In contrast,the addition of both amino acids to media supplemented with IAA and kinetinincreased lobeline production.     

Methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid elicitation induces ginsenosides accumulation, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant in suspension culture Panax ginseng roots in bioreactors

The effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA) on changes of the activities of major antioxidant enzymes, superoxide anion accumulation (O₂ ⁻), ascorbate, total glutathione (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and ginsenoside accumulation were investigated in ginseng roots (Panax ginseng L.) in 4 l (working volume) air lift bioreactors. Single treatment of 200 μM MJ and SA to P. ginseng roots enhanced ginsenoside accumulation compared to the control and harvested 3, 5, 7 and 9 days after treatment. MJ and SA treatment induced an oxidative stress in P. ginseng roots, as shown by an increase in lipid peroxidation due to rise in O₂ ⁻ accumulation. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was inhibited in MJ-treated roots, while the activities of monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), SOD, guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were induced in SA-treated roots. A strong decrease in the activity of catalase (CAT) was obtained in both MJ- and SA-treated roots. Activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione S transferase (GST) were higher in MJ than SA while the contents of reduced ascorbate (ASC), redox state (ASC/(ASC+DHA)) and TG were higher in SA- than MJ-treated roots while oxidized ascorbate (DHA) decreased in both cases. The result of these analyses suggests that roots are better protected against the O₂ ⁻ stress, thus mitigating MJ and SA stress. The information obtained in this work is useful for efficient large-scale production of ginsenoside by plant-root cultures.     

Methyl jasmonate enhanced production of rosmarinic acid in cell cultures of Satureja khuzistanica in a bioreactor

The growing interest in rosmarinic acid (RA), an ester of caffeic acid and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl lactic acid, is due to its biological activities, which include cognitive‐enhancing effects, slowing the development of Alzheimer's disease, cancer chemoprotection, and anti‐inflammatory activity. Inspired by the challenge of meeting the growing demand for this plant secondary metabolite, we developed a biotechnological platform based on cell suspension cultures of Satureja khuzistanica. The high amounts of RA produced by this system accumulated mainly inside the cells. To further improve production, two elicitors, 100 μM methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and 40 mM cyclodextrin (CD), were tested, separately and together. MeJA increased RA productivity more than 3‐fold, the elicited cultures achieving an RA production of 3.9 g L^?1 without affecting biomass productivity. CD did not have a clear effect on RA production, and under the combined treatment of MeJA + CD only a small amount of RA was released to the medium. When the cell culture was transferred from a shake flask to a wave‐mixed bioreactor, a maximum RA production of 3.1 g L^?1 and biomass productivity of 18.7 g L^?1 d^?1 was achieved under MeJA elicitation, demonstrating the suitability of S. khuzistanica cell suspensions for the biotechnological production of this bioactive plant secondary metabolite.     

Methyl jasmonate elicitation enhanced synthesis of ginsenoside by cell suspension cultures of Panax ginseng in 5-l balloon type bubble bioreactors

The effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) elicitation on the cell growth and accumulation of ginsenoside in 5-l bioreactor suspension cultures of Panax ginseng were investigated. Ginsenoside accumulation was enhanced by elicitation by MJ (in the range 50–400 M); however, fresh weight, dry weight and growth ratio of the cells was strongly inhibited by increasing MJ concentration. The highest ginsenoside yield was obtained at 200 M MJ. In the second experiment, 200 M MJ was added on day 15 during the cultivation. The ginsenoside, Rb group, and Rg group ginsenoside content increased 2.9, 3.7, and 1.6 times, respectively, after 8 days of MJ treatment. Rb group gisnsenosides accumulated more than Rg group ginsenosides. Among Rb group ginsenosides, Rb1 content increased significantly by four times but the contents of Rb2, Rc and Rd increased only slightly. Among Rg group ginsenosides, Rg1 and Re showed 2.3-fold and 3.0-fold increments, respectively, whereas there was only a slight increment in Rf group ginsenosides. These results suggest that MJ elicitation is beneficial for ginsenoside production using 5-l bioreactor cell suspension cultures.     

Roles of reactive oxygen species in methyl jasmonate and nitric oxide-induced tanshinone production in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots

Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most popular traditional Chinese medicinal plants for treatment of coronary heart disease. Tanshinones are the main biological active compounds in S. miltiorrhiza. In this study, effects of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MJ) and nitric oxide (NO) on tanshinone production in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots were investigated and the roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in MJ and NO-induced tanshinone production were elucidated further. The results showed that contents of four tanshinone compounds were significantly increased by 100 μM MJ when compared to the control. Application of 100 μM sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of NO, also resulted in a significant increase of tanshinone production. Expression of two key genes encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) and 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) was up-regulated by MJ and SNP. Generations of O₂ ⁻ and H₂O₂ were triggered by MJ, but not by SNP. The increase of tanshinone production and up-regulation of HMGR and DXR expression induced by MJ were significantly inhibited by ROS scavengers, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). However, neither SOD nor CAT was able to suppress the SNP-induced increase of tanshinone production and expression of HMGR and DXR gene. In conclusion, tanshinone production was significantly stimulated by MJ and SNP. Of four tanshinone compounds, cryptotanshinone accumulation was most affected by MJ elicitation, while cryptotanshinone and tanshinone IIA accumulation was more affected by SNP elicitation. ROS mediated MJ-induced tanshinone production, but SNP-induced tanshinone production was ROS independent.     

Methyl jasmonate and miconazole differently affect arteminisin production and gene expression in Artemisia annua suspension cultures

Artemisia annua L. is a herb traditionally used for treatment of fevers. The glandular trichomes of this plant accumulate, although at low levels, artemisinin, which is highly effective against malaria. Due to the great importance of this compound, many efforts have been made to improve knowledge on artemisinin production both in plants and in cell cultures. In this study, A. annua suspension cultures were established in order to investigate the effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and miconazole on artemisinin biosynthesis. Twenty-two micro molar MeJA induced a three-fold increase of artemisinin production in around 30 min; while 200 μm miconazole induced a 2.5-fold increase of artemisinin production after 24 h, but had severe effects on cell viability. The influence of these treatments on expression of biosynthetic genes was also investigated. MeJA induced up-regulation of CYP71AV1, while miconazole induced up-regulation of CPR and DBR2.     

Establishment and growth characteristics of Glycyrrhiza glabra hairy root cultures

Hairy root cultures of Glycyrrhiza glabra producing considerable amounts of phenolic compounds were successfully established by using Agrobacterium strain C58C18(pRT GUS 104). The effect of phosphate, ammonia, nitrate and ferric-EDTA concentrations of culture medium on growth and total phenolics production of the cultures were studied. By employing statistical experimental design and linear regression analysis an improved B5 medium (B50-M) could be developed. When cultivating G. glabra hairy roots in B50-M medium we were able to obtain 9 g dried roots/l in 25 days which was twice as much as when using the initial B50 medium. According to tentative analyses the cultures did not contain glycyrrhyzin, but they produced liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin. The production of total phenolic substances (mg g^-1 dw) was higher in the improved medium resulting in significantly higher volumetric productivity (mg phenolic compounds l^-1). This will further enable the extraction and identification of the phenolic compounds produced by the cultures.