Comparison of some physiological markers prior to and post vitrification in Hypericum perforatum L.

The aim of this work is to present the differences between survival rate of Hypericum perforatum L. shoot tips cryoprotected with PVS2 or PVS3 and to compare some physiological patterns prior to and post vitrification procedure. H. perforatum shoot tips pretreated either with 0.076ìM abscisic acid (ABA) for 10 days or 0.3M sucrose for 16 hours were cryoprotected with two different cryoprotective solutions, PVS2 (10% v/v glycerol, 20% w/v sucrose, 10% v/v DMSO) or PVS3 (50% w/v sucrose, 50% v/v glycerol). Survival rate was determined 7 weeks after thawing. As Table 1 shows we have observed 1.47 to 8.6 times higher survival rates (except for the genotypes 40/7/3 and 42/7/3) using PVS3 after ABA pretreatment, whereas in case of sucrose pretreatment survival rate of most genotypes exposed to the same cryoprotection procedure decreased (except for 29/7/5 and 34/7/1, respectively). Recovered plants were subjected to assessment of some physiological markers. Conductivity, H2O2 and MDA content were determined in recovered samples and their control plants (up to 100 mg FW). Our preliminary results indicate that at least one of the parameters studied exceeded level of control values (prior to cryopreservation) after recovery of cryopreserved samples (Figure 2) with an exception of one sample. Possible effect of these findings will be presented and discussed.vokMyynti MTT, Tietopalvelut 31600 Jokioine

Hairy root induction and plant regeneration in Hypericum perforatum L

Hypericum perforatum L. (Family: Clusiaceae) is a medicinal plant well known for its antidepressant and antiviral properties. The blooming aerial part of the plant contains active pharmaceutical metabolites (hypericins, hyperforins, xanthones, flavonoids, etc.). In this work hairy roots have been induced in H perforatum, by infecting in vitro root and leaf tissue with wild type A. rhizogenes, ATCC 15834. Hairy root cultures were established and plant regeneration occurred spontaneously on hormone-free medium. The regenerated plants showed typical morphological characters: shorter internodes, increased branching, small leaves and reduced apical dominance. Molecular analysis (PCR and Southern blot) confirmed the integration of the A. rhizogenes T-DNA rolC gene into the host genome. The ploidy level of the hairy root-regenerated plants remained unchanged by transformation/regeneration procedure. One hairy root-regenerated plant line produced a higher hypericin content than in vitro control plants

Calagem e adubação fosfatada promovem crescimento inicial e produção de hipericina em erva-de-São-João Liming and phosphate fertilization promote initial growth and hipericin production in St. John's wort

A erva-de-São-João é uma planta medicinal empregada no tratamento antidepressivo. A hipericina é considerada um dos compostos que contribui para o efeito medicinal da planta. Uma vez que a concentração e a quantidade do princípio ativo pode ser afetada pela nutrição das plantas, este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os efeitos do pH do solo e da adubação fosfatada sobre o crescimento inicial e a produção de hipericina em erva-de-São-João. O experimento foi realizado em Lages, SC, de julho a dezembro de 2003, em casa de vegetação. Utilizou-se delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado (fatorial 4 x 3), correspondendo a quatro valores de pH (4,1; 5,5; 6,0 e 6,5) e três doses de P (0, 50 e 100 mg kg-1 de solo), com quatro repetições. Foram cultivadas duas plantas por vaso, em um Cambissolo Húmico Álico. Avaliou-se a produção de massa seca, a altura e o número de ramificações da parte aérea, o número de glândulas escuras nas folhas e a concentração e a quantidade total de hipericina na parte aérea. A produção de massa seca da parte aérea aumentou com a adição de P e, em maior magnitude, com a calagem. A altura das plantas somente foi influenciada pela calagem. O número de ramificações e de glândulas escuras e a concentração de hipericina aumentaram com a aplicação de P apenas na ausência de calagem, e com a calagem na ausência de P. Os maiores conteúdos de hipericina por vaso foram verificados nos tratamentos com pH 6,0 e 6,5 e doses de P de 50 e 100 mg kg-1 de solo.<br>St. Jonh's wort is a medicinal plant used for anti-depressive treatment. Hypericin is considered one of the compounds that contribute to the medicinal effect of the plant. Since the concentration and the total quantity of active ingredients may be affected by plant nutrition, this work was conducted to investigate the effects of soil pH and phosphorus (P) addition to the soil on initial growth and hypericin production of St. John's wort. The experiment was carried out in Lages, SC, from July until December of 2003, in a greenhouse. It followed a completely randomized factorial design (4 x 3), with four levels of pH (4.1, 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5) and three doses of P (0, 50, and 100 mg kg-1 of soil), and four replicates. Two plants were cultivated per pot, under a Humic Inceptisol. Plants were harvested and assessed for aerial dry matter production, height, number of lateral shoots, number of dark glands in the leaves, aerial hypericin content and aerial total hypericin production. The aerial dry matter production increased with P addition and, in a larger amount, with liming. The plant height was only affected by the liming. The number of lateral shoots and dark glands in the leaves as well as the hipericin concentration only increased with P application in the soil without liming, and with liming in the soil that did not receive P. The highest total hypericin production per pot was achieved in the treatments with pH values of 6.0 and 6.5 and P doses of 50 and 100 mg kg-1 of soil