Effect of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate in the production of phenolic compounds in plant cell suspension cultures of Thevetia peruviana

The objective was to enhance the production of the phenolic compounds in plant cell suspension cultures of T. peruviana at shake flask scale. The effects of salicylic acid (SA), methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) and the combination of both (SA/MeJA) were studied. Elicitor concentration, elicitation time and harvest time of cells were optimized. Phenolic compound content (PCC), flavonoid content (FC) and antioxidant activity (AA) were determined by the folin-ciocalteu method, flavonoid-aluminum complexation method and the ABTS assay, respectively. Differences between intracellular metabolite profiles due to the mentioned treatments were analyzed by Thin-layer chromatography and High-performance liquid chromatography. Highest PCC, FC and AA were obtained under the following treatments: 3 μM MeJA > 3 μM MeJA/300 μM SA > 300 μM SA > control, when elicited on the 4th day and harvested 96-h post-elicitation. It was demonstrated that exposure to 3 μM MeJA increase 1.49-fold of PCC, 1.66-fold of AA and 2.55-fold of FC compared to the control culture. Keywords: Thevetia peruviana, Plant cell culture, Phenolic compounds, Methyl jasmonate, Salicylic acid