The Effect of Heavy Metals on In Vitro Adventitious Shoot Production and Bacoside A Content in Bacopa Monnieri (L)

In the present study the effect of heavy metals (MnSO 4, ZnSO 4 and CuSO 4 ) on adventitious shoot regeneration, biomass and bacoside A accumulation in Bacopa monnieri was carried out. The leaf explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg l -1 kinetin (Kin) with varying concentration of heavy metals (Control: Mn-0.10 mM, Zn-0.03 mM and Cu- 0.0001mM; Mn: 0.20, 0.40, 0.80 and 1.60 mM; Zn: 0.06, 0.12, 0.24 and 0.48 mM; Cu: 0.02, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 mM). Optimum number of adventitious shoots (123.50 shoot/explants), fresh weight (3.826 g) and dry weight (0.226 g) of Bacopa monnieri were obtained in the medium with 0.12 mM Zn concentration. The highest productio

Elicitor-Induced Production of Biomass and Pharmaceutical Phenolic Compounds in Cell Suspension Culture of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Plants that synthesize bioactive compounds that have high antioxidant value and elicitation offer a reliable in vitro technique to produce important nutraceutical compounds. The objective of this study is to promote the biosynthesis of these phenolic compounds on a large scale using elicitors in date palm cell suspension culture. Elicitors such as pectin, yeast extract (YE), salicylic acid (SA), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), and silver nitrate (AgNO3) at 50, 100, and 200 mg/L concentrations are used. The effects of elicitors on cell culture were determined in terms of biomass [packed cell volume (PCV), fresh and dry weight], antioxidant activity, and phenolic compounds (catechin, caffeic acid, kaempferol, apigenin) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed that enhanced PCV (12.3%), total phenolic content [317.9 ± 28.7 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g of dry weight (DW)], and radical scavenging activity (86.0 ± 4.5%) were obtained in the 50 mg/L SA treated cell culture of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The accumulation of optimum catechin (26.6 ± 1.3 µg/g DW), caffeic acid (31.4 ± 3.8 µg/g DW), and kaempferol (13.6 ± 1.6 µg/g DW) was found in the 50 mg/L SA-treated culture when compared to the control. These outcomes could be of great importance in the nutraceutical and agronomic industries

Cell suspension culture as a means to produce polyphenols from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

ABSTRACT Date palm accumulates a wide range of secondary metabolites high in nutritional and therapeutic value. In the present study, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Shaishi) shoot-tip-induced callus was used to establish cell suspension cultures in Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium containing 1.5 mg L-1 2-isopentenyladenine (2iP) and 10 mg L-1 naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). To study the growth kinetics, cultures were maintained for 12 weeks during which weekly measurements were carried out to determine the biomass accumulation based on packed cell volume (%), fresh weight and dry weight (g). In addition, weekly determination of polyphenols (catechin, caffeic acid, kaempferol, and apigenin) was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The 11-week-old culture was found highest in the production of biomass (62.9 g L-1 fresh weight and 7.6 g L-1 dry weight) and polyphenols (catechin-155.9 µg L-1, caffeic acid-162.7 µg L-1, kaempferol-89.7 µg L-1, and apigenin-242.7 µg L-1) from the cell suspension cultures. This is the first report on the production of polyphenols from the cell suspension culture of date palm. This study facilitates further development of large-scale production of polyphenols and the utilization of bioreactors

Date palm micropropagation: Advances and applications

ABSTRACT Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a fruit tree resilient to adverse climatic conditions predominating in hot arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa. The date fruit contains numerous chemical components that possess high nutritional and medicinal values. Traditional propagation by offshoots is inefficient to satisfy current demands for date palm trees. Alternatively, micropropagation provides an efficient means for large-scale propagation of date palm cultivars. Both somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis, either directly or indirectly though the callus phase, have been demonstrated in date palm in vitro regeneration. Culture initiation commonly utilizes shoot-tip explants isolated from young offshoots. Recently, the immature inflorescences of adult trees were utilized as an alternative nondestructive source of explants. In addition to the nature of the explant used, successful plant regeneration depends on the cultivar, composition of the culture medium and physical status. Challenges of date palm micropropagation include long in vitro cycle, latent contamination, browning, somaclonal variation as well as ex vitro acclimatization and transplanting. A remarkable amount of research investigating these factors has led to optimized protocols for the micropropagation of numerous commercially important cultivars. This has encouraged the development of several international commercial tissue culture laboratories. Molecular characterization provides an assurance of genetic conformity of regenerated plantlets, a key feature for commercial production. This article describes date palm micropropagation protocols and also discusses recent achievements with respect to somaclonal variation, molecular markers, cryopreservation and future prospects

Comparative Quantification of the Phenolic Compounds, Piperine Content, and Total Polyphenols along with the Antioxidant Activities in the <i>Piper trichostachyon</i> and <i>P. nigrum</i>

India is the largest producer in the world of black pepper and it is the center of origin for Piper. The present study gives a comparative account of the chemical composition of the Piper nigrum and its wild putative parent the P. trichostachyon. Microextractions were performed and the quantification of six phenolic compounds (namely epicatechin, gallic acid, catechol, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and catechin), piperine from leaves, petioles, and the fruits of both the species, were accomplished using the RP-UFLC system. The polyphenols (phenolic, flavonoid) and their antioxidant activities were also estimated. Among the six phenolic compounds studied, only three were detected and quantified. The polyphenol content correlating to the antioxidant activities was higher in the P. trichostachyon, whereas the piperine content was 108 times greater in the P. nigrum fruits. The Piper trichostachyon comparatively showed a higher content of polyphenols. The microextractions reduced the solvent consumption, the quantity of the plant material, and the amount of time used for the extraction. The first report on the TPC, TF, and the antioxidant activity of the P. trichostachyon has been described, and it also forms a scientific basis for its use in traditional medicine. The petioles of both species are good sources of phenolic compounds. A quantitative chemical analysis is a useful index in the identification and comparison of the species