Cell cultures of the wild sunflower Helianthus maximiliani schrader: growth and secondary metabolite synthesis.

Callus cultures derived from leaves, stem, sepals and ray flowers and cell suspension cultures of Helianthus maximiliani Schrader were established and analysed for their phytochemicals. Dark-grown cultures were found to synthesize small amounts of non-toxic, polycyclic diterpenoids when grown on modified MS-medium, while β-sitosterol and palmitic acid were found in dark- and light-grown cultures. Red light irradiation did not enhance terpenoid production compared to dark- and light-grown cells.