Phenylalanine induced biosynthesis of flavonoids from cell suspension culture of Lantana camara L.

Abstract

Plant cells, tissues, and organs have become abundant sources of secondary metabolites responsible for the antimicrobial defense mechanisms of plants. However, large-scale production of these metabolites has been limited by environmental factors and anthropogenic activities that disrupt ecosystems. Plant tissue culture has emerged as a fundamental approach for enhancing secondary metabolite production. This study aimed to produce flavonoids using phenylalanine as a precursor in the cell suspension culture of Lantana camara. Callus cells were initiated from leaf explants of L. camara in MS basal medium supplemented with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 mg/L BAP, 1 mg/L NAA, and 8 g/L agar. The cell suspension culture was established by transferring the resulting callus into liquid medium of similar composition for two weeks, with varying concentrations of phenylalanine precursor. The total flavonoid content (TFC) of two-week-old suspension cells was compared with that of the control and a four-year-old plant. The results showed that treatment with 4 mg/L phenylalanine produced the highest flavonoid content (6.633 mg RE/g DW). At p ≤ 0.05, there were significant differences in TFC among phenylalanine concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mg/L. Progressive and proportional increases in TFC were observed from 0.5 to 4 mg/L, while concentrations above 4 mg/L resulted in a decline in flavonoid accumulation. For phenylalanine concentrations of 12, 14, and 16 mg/L, no significant increases in TFC (p ≤ 0.05, 95% CI) were observed compared with the control. These findings demonstrate a significant advantage of biosynthesizing flavonoids using phenylalanine as a precursor in L. camara cell cultures over conventional natural production methods.

Keywords: Bioproduction, total flavonoid content (TFC), phenylalanine, secondary metabolites, callus cell suspension, Lantana camara.