Production of Anthracene Derivatives by the Elicited Tissue Culture of Rheumpalmatum L.

Overview

With a few exceptions, the characteristic problem of cultivation of plant explants in in vitro culturesis a low production of secondary metabolites by these cultures. One of the methods, which canachieve an increase in the production of natural substances in in vitro cultures, is elicitation of cellcultures. The effect of the biotic elicitor Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the form of a homogenate andan aqueous suspension of dead cells on the production of anthracene derivatives by the tissue cultureof Rheum palmatum L. of different age and origin was examined. The culture was cultivated ona Murashige-Skoog medium with an addition of 10 mg.l -1 of a-naphthylacetic acid. The maximalcontent of anthracene derivatives found by photometric determination according to PhBs 4 wasdemonstrated in an eight years old culture (1.027 %) after sixhour elicitation with an aqueoussuspension of dead cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.7 mg of dry matter/1 ml of solution). Theculture newly derived from the root of the intact plant Rheum palmatum L. responded to elicitationmore sensitively than the culture derived from the seed; nevertheless the content of anthracenederivatives was lower than in the eight years old culture.

Key words:
tissue culture – Rheum palmatum L. – anthracene derivatives – biotic elicitation –Pseudomonas aeruginosa