EFFECTS OF ELICITORS ON TROPANE ALKALOID PRODUCTION AND RELEASE IN TRANSFORMED ROOT CULTURES OF BRUGMANSIA CANDIDA

Scopolamine and hyoscyamine are tropane alkaloids employed in medicine as antispasmodics and for the treatment of motion sickness.
Both compounds are extracted from plants that belong to several species of Solanaceae because their chemical synthesis is complicated and expensive.
Obtaining these compounds through in vitro cultures is a promising alternative.
In this research, transformed (hairy) roots of Brugmansia candida have been used.
Different clones were obtained through infection with the soil pathogen Agrobacterium rhizogenes, and transformation was confirmed by PCR. Almost all the clones dedifferentiated, and in some cases this could be reverted using antiauxins or modifying the culture media.
In order to increase alkaloid productivity, hairy roots with normal morphology were treated with a biotic elicitor (hemicellulase) and a stress agent (CuSO₄). Hemicellulase had a positive effect on production of both alkaloids (100–200%). When CuSO₄ was used, there was a dramatic increase in the release of both alkaloids (500%) into the medium.

II WOCMAP Congress Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Part 3: Agricultural Production, Post Harvest Techniques, Biotechnology

S.I. Pitta-Alvarez, J. Rodríguez Talou, C. Flocco, T.C. Spollansky, C. Desmarchelier, A.M. Giulietti

Solanaceae, scopolamine, hyoscyamine, hairy roots, dedifferentiation, antiauxins

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1999.502.20