Growth, secondary metabolite production and antioxidant enzyme response of Morinda citrifolia adventitious root as affected by auxin and cytokinin

Morinda citrifolia adventitious roots were cultured in shake flasks using Murashige and Skoog medium with different types and concentrations of auxin and cytokinin. Root (fresh weight and dry weight) accumulation was enhanced at 5 mg l(-1) indole butyric acid (IBA) and at 7 and 9 mg l(-1) naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). On the other hand, 9 mg l(-1) NAA decreased the anthraquinone, phenolic and flavonoid contents more severely than 9 mg l(-1) IBA. When adventitious roots were treated with kinetin (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg l(-1)) and thidiazuron (TDZ; 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg l(-1)) in combination with 5 mg l(-1) IBA, fresh weight and dry weight decreased but secondary metabolite content increased. The secondary metabolite content (including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl activity) increased more in TDZ-treated than in kinetin-treated roots. Antioxidative enzymes such as catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD), which play important roles in plant defense, also increased. A strong decrease in ascorbate peroxidase activity resulted in a high accumulation of hydrogen peroxide. This indicates that adventitious roots can grow under stress conditions with induced CAT and G-POD activities and higher accumulations of secondary metabolites. These results suggest that 5 mg l(-1) IBA supplementation is useful for growth and secondary metabolite production in adventitious roots of M. citrifolia.