Red light controlled callus morphogenetic patterns and secondary metabolites production in Withania somnifera L

Muhammad Adil; Bilal Haider Abbasi; Ihsan Ul Haq

doi:10.1016/j.btre.2019.e00380

Red light controlled callus morphogenetic patterns and secondary metabolites production in Withania somnifera L

Biotechnol Rep (Amst). 2019 Sep 19:24:e00380. doi: 10.1016/j.btre.2019.e00380. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Muhammad Adil¹, Bilal Haider Abbasi², Ihsan Ul Haq³

Affiliations

¹ H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry-Biotechnology Wing, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan.
² Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
³ Department of Pharmacy, Quaid I Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.

Abstract

Withania somnifera L. is an endangered medicinal plant of higher market value. The in vitro callus cultures were established on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media augmented with different plant growth regulators. The MS medium containing 0.5 mg∙L^-1 of each TDZ and NAA was found to be optimal for callus formation and growth. Further, callus cultures were raised in different light wavelengths to find the right wavelength carrying the photons for the ideal cell growth of W. somnifera. Among the different wavelengths, red light was best for maximum biomass accumulation in callus culture. However, violet light condition was proven to be favouring the phenols and flavonoids synthesis in the callus cultures. Compared to other wavelengths, red light grown callus extract showed significantly higher content of chlorogenic acid, and withaferin A. This study concludes that red light treatment was optimum for maximum biomass accumulation and anti-oxidant activity in calli of W. somnifera.

Keywords: Anti-oxidant; Callus; Light; Phenolic; Withania; Withanolides.