Elicitor induced increased rosmarinic acid content of in vitro root cultures of Ocimum basilicum L. (Sweet Basil)

In vitro root cultures provide an alternative means for producing secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical and industrial importance. The present investigation is an attempt to study the effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) as an elicitor, on the production of rosmarinic acid through in vitro root cultures of Ocimum basilicum L. The rosmarinic acid is a preformed constitutively accumulated defense compound having several biological activities including antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidative activity. Uniform progeny of O. basilicum L. was obtained through in vitro shoot bud multiplication as reliable source of explants. In vitro root cultures were established in one fourth strength of Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l(-1) a-napthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Methyl jasmonate, was supplemented to the root cultures at different concentrations (0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 mM), and their effect on total phenol content as well as rosmarinic acid production was studied. Rosmarinic acid was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Compared to the control set of cultures 1.60 fold increase in rosmarinic acid concentration (4.05 +/- 0.74 % of dry wt) was observed in elicitor treated cultures.