Possibility for selective accumulation of polyphenolics in tissue cultures of senno (Lychnis senno Siebold et Zucc.).

Senno (Lychnis senno Siebold et Zucc.), a traditional ornamental plant in Japan had been used as a crude drug acting as natural blood thinners. Since tissue culture protocols have been established, we analyzed polyphenol accumulation profiles in shoot culture, multiple shoot culture, and callus culture using the technique of HPLC with a Photodiode Array Detector. By comparing the HPLC profiles at 220-400 nm from extracts of different cultures, 14 putative flavonoids were confirmed as major metabolites in the cultures of senno. Among the 14 compounds detected, 6 were tissue specific metabolites. It appears that the biosynthetic pathway of polyphenolics in Senno is regulated or strongly influenced by how tissues are regenerated and maintained in the in vitro environment. Hence, it may be possible to selectively produce novel secondary metabolites including flavonoids by engineering a target tissue culture procedure developed in the present study.