Abstract
Hairy root cultures ofTrigonella foenum-graecum L. were established withAgrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4. The hairy roots produce diosgenin, an important spirostanol for the semi-synthesis of steroid hormones. Fourteen different liquid media were investigated. The fastest growth was obtained in McCown's woody plant (WP) medium supplemented with 3% sucrose; the highest diosgenin content was observed in half-strength WP medium with 1% sucrose (0.040% dry weight), which represents almost twice the amount detected in the 8-month-old non-transformed roots (0.024%). A time-course study in WP liquid media supplemented with 3% sucrose was undertaken. In these conditions, 17 μg diosgenin/g fresh weight were produced. The influence of cholesterol, medium pH and chitosan on diosgenin production was tested. The addition of 40 mg/l chitosan elevated the diosgenin content to three times that found in non-elicited hairy roots.
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Abbreviations
- MS :
-
Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium
- WP :
-
McCown's woody plant medium
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Merkli, A., Christen, P. & Kapetanidis, I. Production of diosgenin by hairy root cultures ofTrigonella foenum-graecum L.. Plant Cell Reports 16, 632–636 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01275505
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01275505