Improvement of biosynthesis and accumulation of bioactive compounds by elicitation in adventitious root cultures of Polygonum multiflorum.

We examined the effects of abiotic (methyl jasmonate [MeJA] and salicylic acid [SA]) and biotic (yeast extract and chitosan) elicitors for improvement of bioactive compounds production on adventitious root cultures in Polygonum multiflorum. The application of yeast extract resulted in significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher dry root biomass (9.98 g/L) and relative growth rate versus the control. Cultures treated with abiotic elicitors showed higher percentage of dry weight than the other samples. Low concentrations of all elicitors (50 μM MeJA and SA, and 50 mg/L yeast extract) improved secondary metabolite production except for chitosan, whose performance was worse than that of the control. HPLC analysis of various bioactive compounds revealed significantly higher elicitation efficiency for MeJA than for the other treatments, with an approximately 2-fold increase in root dry weight (22.08 mg/g DW) under 50 μM MeJA treatment versus the control (10.35 mg/g DW). We also investigated the feasibility of scaling up the production process by comparing shake flask cultures with 3- and 5-L balloon type bubble bioreactors (BTBB) using 50 μM MeJA as an elicitor. Growth and metabolite accumulation increased in BTBB compared with shake flask cultures. We detected a non-significant difference in biomass productivity between 3 and 5-L BTBB, but the efficiency of bioactive compound accumulation decreased with increasing volume. These findings will be useful for developing a pilot-scale P. multiflorum adventitious root cultivation process for high biomass and bioactive compound production to meet the demands for natural ingredients by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries without affecting the natural habitat of this plant.