Influence of KNO[3], CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations on growth and cichoric acid accumulation in hairy root culture of purple coneflower [echinacea purpurea L.]

Purple coneflower [Echinacea purpurea L.] is one of the most important medicinal plants. Hairy root culture of Echinace, represent a valuable alternative to field cultivation for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. The present study investigates the effects of KNO[3], CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations on growth and the biosynthesis of cichoric acid in Echinacea purpurea hairy root culture. Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain R15834 was used for hairy root induction. The experiment was performed with 0.5 g of fresh hairy roots [about 2 cm long segments] per 100 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing 30 ml of hormone-free liquid 1/2MS salts with B5 vitamins supplemented with different amounts of KNO[3] [3131, 3939, and 4747 mg/l], CaCl[2] [85, 170, and 340 mg/l] and MgSO[4] [370 [control], 600, and 1600 mg/l]. After 4 weeks, growth parameters and cichoric acid amounts were assessed. Results indicated that the highest fresh [99.69 g/l] and dry weight [6.91 g/l] of hairy roots was achieved using 3131 mg/l KNO[3]. Fresh and dry weights of hairy roots in various CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations were not significantly different from those of control. The highest amount of cichoric acid [30.55 mg/g DW] was produced by 1600 mg/l MgSO[4] treated hairy roots after 4 weeks. The present work demonstrated the effectiveness of modified 1/2MS salts supplemented with B5 vitamins medium for improving hairy root growth and in vitro production of cichoric acid

Production of secondary metabolites and pharmaceutical constituents through tissue and cell culture

Metabolism is known as chemical reactions, which occurs in alive plants. Primary metabolites include main biochemical materials i.e. carbohydrate, protein and fat. Biochemicals other than these three main groups are known as secondary metabolites, which exist in a wide range and are used as pharmaceutical products, food flavors, insecticides and natural dyes. Tissue culture is one of the main approaches in industrial production of secondary metabolites because the potential of their natural production is very limited. The main techniques, which have used in this field, include: cell culture, organ culture and hairy root culture. In order to improve production of secondary metabolites through cell culture several steps one involved: screening and selection of highly productive cell lines, manipulation of nutrients, optimizing the culture environment, use of elicitation, permeabilization of cells and in situ product removal. In general, we can say that using this approach has economical value in the production of natural medicinal compounds