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Plants that synthesize bioactive compounds that have high antioxidant value and elicitation offer a reliable in vitro technique to produce important nutraceutical compounds. The objective of this study is to promote the biosynthesis of these phenolic compounds on a large scale using elicitors in date palm cell suspension culture. Elicitors such as pectin, yeast extract (YE), salicylic acid (SA), cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ), and silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) at 50, 100, and 200 mg/L concentrations are used. The effects of elicitors on cell culture were determined in terms of biomass [packed cell volume (PCV), fresh and dry weight], antioxidant activity, and phenolic compounds (catechin, caffeic acid, kaempferol, apigenin) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed that enhanced PCV (12.3%), total phenolic content [317.9 ± 28.7 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g of dry weight (DW)], and radical scavenging activity (86.0 ± 4.5%) were obtained in the 50 mg/L SA treated cell culture of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The accumulation of optimum catechin (26.6 ± 1.3 µg/g DW), caffeic acid (31.4 ± 3.8 µg/g DW), and kaempferol (13.6 ± 1.6 µg/g DW) was found in the 50 mg/L SA-treated culture when compared to the control. These outcomes could be of great importance in the nutraceutical and agronomic industries.

India is the largest producer in the world of black pepper and it is the center of origin for Piper. The present study gives a comparative account of the chemical composition of the Piper nigrum and its wild putative parent the P. trichostachyon. Microextractions were performed and the quantification of six phenolic compounds (namely epicatechin, gallic acid, catechol, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and catechin), piperine from leaves, petioles, and the fruits of both the species, were accomplished using the RP-UFLC system. The polyphenols (phenolic, flavonoid) and their antioxidant activities were also estimated. Among the six phenolic compounds studied, only three were detected and quantified. The polyphenol content correlating to the antioxidant activities was higher in the P. trichostachyon, whereas the piperine content was 108 times greater in the P. nigrum fruits. The Piper trichostachyon comparatively showed a higher content of polyphenols. The microextractions reduced the solvent consumption, the quantity of the plant material, and the amount of time used for the extraction. The first report on the TPC, TF, and the antioxidant activity of the P. trichostachyon has been described, and it also forms a scientific basis for its use in traditional medicine. The petioles of both species are good sources of phenolic compounds. A quantitative chemical analysis is a useful index in the identification and comparison of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant hormones are chemical compounds that serve as crucial signal molecules. The growth and induction of bioactive compounds in plant suspension cultures depend on the exogenous application of auxins and cytokinins at different concentrations. In this study, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Shishi) cell suspension cultures initiated in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium were treated with 2.5 and 5 mg/L 2-isopentenyladenine (2-iP) in combinations with 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and compared to the standard cell multiplication medium as the control, which contained 1.5 mg/L 2iP and 10 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The optimum biomass accumulation, based on the packed cell volume and dry weight, was found in the cell suspension culture augmented with 1 mg/L 2,4-D + 5 mg/L 2iP followed by 5 mg/L 2,4-D + 2.5 mg/L 2-iP. In addition, the study assessed the total phenolic, flavonoid and radical scavenging activity, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was also used to determine the content of polyphenols (apigenin, caffeic acid, catechin and kaempferol) quantitatively. Cell suspension cultures containing 5 mg/L 2,4-D and 2.5 mg/L 2iP yielded the maximum accumulation of phenolics, flavonoids and radical scavenging activity (90.65%), and also a significantly higher content of caffeic acid (37.1 µg/g DW). The present finding facilitates the scaling up and commercial production of polyphenols from date palm cell suspension culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]