Čes. slov. farm. 2010, 59(3):112-116

Effects of aluminium chloride on cell growth and production of coumarins in cell suspension cultures of Angelica archangelica L.

T. Siatka^*, M. Kašparová

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Department of Pharmacognosy

Elicitation of plant cells in culture represents a useful biotechnological tool to improve the production of secondary metabolites. In this study, aluminium chloride at various concentrations (1, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 μM) was tested as a potential elicitor of the production of coumarins in angelica cell suspension cultures. In addition, the toxicity of aluminium ions for the culture was assessed by evaluating their effect on cell growth (characterized by fresh and dry biomass at the end of a two-week subculture). Cultures were cultured in the dark or in the light. Fresh biomass was not affected significantly in the presence of aluminium chloride at concentrations from 1 to 1000 μM. Dry biomass was reduced by about 10% at an aluminium concentration of 1000 μM. Production of coumarins was influenced by aluminium chloride depending on light conditions. In the dark-grown cultures, aluminium ions from a concentration of 10 and 50 μM enhanced accumulation of coumarins in the medium and cells, respectively. The contents of coumarins rose with an increasing aluminium level. The best results were achieved with 1000 μM aluminium chloride. The amounts of coumarins were increased by 33% in the medium and 24% in the cells as compared with control cultures. On the other hand, production of coumarins was not improved by aluminium chloride in the light-grown cultures. Moreover, higher aluminium concentrations lowered formation of coumarins in these cultures.

Keywords: Angelica archangelica L.; cell suspension cultures; growth; coumarins; aluminium; elicitation; light conditions; sequential injection analysis

Grants and funding:

This work was supported by the grants MSM 0021620822 and SVV-2010-261-002.Address for correspondence:

Received: May 24, 2010; Accepted: June 14, 2010; Published: March 1, 2010  Show citation