Production of ginseng saponin and polysaccharide by cell cultures of Panax notoginseng and Panax ginseng -: Effects of plant growth regulators

The effects of various combinations of the two kinds of phytohormones, auxin and cytokinin, on cell growth and production of ginseng saponin and polysaccharide were investigated in suspension cultures of Panax notoginseng. It was found that a high concentration of kinetin (KT) (7 mg/L) seriously inhibited cell growth, but that of benzyl adenine (BA) did not. Under 0.7 mg/L of cytokinin (i.e., KT and BA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) at 0.2 mg/L was better for the cell cultures than that at 2 or 20 mg/L; and for both naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and indole acetic acid (IAA), 20 mg/L was their best level for the cell cultures. The highest cell concentration of 11.9 g/L (by dry wt) was obtained with the combination of 0.2 mg/L of 2,4-D and 0.7 mg/L of BA. The highest saponin content of 13.9% was achieved under 2.0 mg/L IAA and 0.07 mg/L KT; its highest production, i.e., 1.13 g/L, was obtained at 0.2 mg/L of 2,4-D and 0.7 mg/L of KT. Under 20 mg/L NAA and 0.7 mg/L KT, the highest polysaccharide content and production were reached, i.e., 16.4% and 1.86 g/L, respectively. In this work, the effects of phytohormones on P. ginseng cell cultures were also studied. A high saponin production of 1.78 g/L was observed at 10 mg/L of indole butyric acid and 0.1 mg/L of BA, and the highest production of polysaccharide (1.95 g/L) was reached with the combination of 10 mg/L NAA and 0.1 mg/L KT.