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The Gentianaceae - Volume 2: Biotechnology and Applications pp 93–112Cite as

Biotechnology and Phytochemistry of Gentianella Species from the Central Regions of the Balkan Peninsula

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Abstract

In the central regions of the Balkan Peninsula, the genus Gentianella is represented by six species. Five of them  G. albanica , G. austriaca , G. bulgarica , G. ciliata , and G. crispata were subject of phytochemical and in vitro studies. Two species, G. austriaca and G. bulgarica, were established as shoot cultures and procedures developed for their in vitro propagation. Difficulties with seed germination and precocious flowering affected the final propagation stages. Phytochemical analyses were performed on five species from nature and on cultured shoots . Plant material was rich in secondary metabolites with xanthones, flavone-C-glucosides, and secoiridoids as the principal constituents. The xanthone aglycones, demethybellidifolin, bellidifolin, corymbiferin, and their corresponding glucosides were dominant components in all the species investigated. The predominant substitution pattern of xanthones found in the genus Gentianella was 1,3,5,8 and to a lesser extent, 1,3,7,8. Lanceoside and veratriloside were new compounds found in European Gentianella species. In vitro material generally contained less secondary metabolites than plants from nature; the content of secondary products was influenced by the concentration of benzyladenine (BAP) in the culture medium.

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Acknowledgement

This chapter and its related research were performed under Project Grant No. 173015 of the Serbian Ministry of Education and Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Bul. Despota Stefana 142, 11 000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Dijana Krstić-Milošević, Branka Vinterhalter & Dragan Vinterhalter

  2. Institute for Medicinal Plant Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11 000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Teodora Janković

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  1. Dijana Krstić-Milošević
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  2. Branka Vinterhalter
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  3. Teodora Janković
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Correspondence to Dragan Vinterhalter .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Botanical Garden-Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

    Jan J. Rybczyński

  2. Plant and Crop Sciences Division, University of Nottingham School of Biosciences, Loughborough, United Kingdom

    Michael R. Davey

  3. Botanical Garden-Center for Biological Diversity Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

    Anna Mikuła

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Krstić-Milošević, D., Vinterhalter, B., Janković, T., Vinterhalter, D. (2015). Biotechnology and Phytochemistry of Gentianella Species from the Central Regions of the Balkan Peninsula. In: Rybczyński, J., Davey, M., Mikuła, A. (eds) The Gentianaceae - Volume 2: Biotechnology and Applications. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54102-5_4

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