Elicitor-induced phytochemicals production in Berberis lycium Royle

Medicinally important alkaloids (i.e., berberine, palmatine) and polyphenols compounds in-vitro callus cultures of Berberis lycium Royle were quantified. The maximum callus biomass and phytochemical concentrations were observed after five weeks of culture in the medium containing methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA). The cell cultures established with lower elicitation (i.e., 50 µM SA and 100 µM MeJA) concentration showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher biomass accumulation and highest alkaloids and polyphenol production compared to the control. Furthermore, upon 100 μM MeJA treatment, the elicited callus extract showed significantly higher (56.67%) antimutagenic activity than SA treatment (41.71%), and the result was comparable with that of reference compounds (gallic acid; 59.43%). Besides, the antimicrobial potential of the callus extract was investigated in different solvent mediums (i.e., methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate) and against four microorganisms, i.e., Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens. Of the different solvent mediums, the maximum zone of inhibition (11.5 ± 0.51 mm) was observed for E. coli in methanolic extract. High-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a photodiode detector (HPLC-PDA) analyses revealed the presence of polyphenols compounds such as gallic acid, catechin, m-coumaric acid, vanillin, phloridzin, p-coumaric acid, salicylic acid, naringin, o-coumaric acid and alkaloids (berberine, palmatine) in the callus culture. This is the first report of in-vitro elicitor-mediated production of different phytochemicals, polyphenolics, and alkaloids in B. lycium callus cultures. The optimized protocol developed can be used efficiently in large-scale production of pharmaceutically important metabolites, thus opening the door for industrial exploration and the conservation of this important medicinal plants.