Enhancement in the production of phenolic compounds from Fagonia indica callus cultures via Fusarium oxysporum triggered elicitation

Fagonia indica Burm.f. (1768) is a medicinally important plant showing diverse pharmaceutical benefits. It is renowned for its ability to biosynthesize several anticancer and anti-inflammatory metabolites. For the eco-friendly and sustainable synthesis of phytochemicals and plant biomass, a biotechnological technique, “elicitation,” is a highly effective method in various in vitro cultures. The present study includes using various concentrations of Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. as an elicitor in callus cultures of Fagonia indica . The main goal was to achieve enhancement in biomass production and secondary metabolism. The findings demonstrated that maximum biomass production (FW: 167.42 ± 3.99 g per 100 mL; DW: 12.53 ± 1.04 g per 100 mL) was observed at 50 mg L −1 of Fusarium oxysporum as compared to the control. Secondary metabolites showed immense production (phenolic content (9.68 ± 0.23 µg mg −1 ); flavonoid content (2.814808 ± 0.11 µg mg −1 )) in callus cultures treated with 10 mg L −1 of Fusarium oxysporum as compared with control. Moreover, the cultures possessed the highest antioxidant capacity, as determined by 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS •+ ) radical cation based assay and α, α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, ((821.51 ± 3.20 µmol TEAC per mg DW of ABTS inhibition) (91% ± 1.45 of DPPH inhibition)) at 10 mg L −1 concentration of Fusarium oxysporum , and the maximum ferric ion reducing activity (219.29 ± 2.36 µmol TEAC per mg DW) was noticed at 1.0 mg L −1 concentration of F. oxysporum . Fagonia indica cultures also indicated the highest percent inhibition against cyclooxygenases (COX-1: 51.93% ± 1.74 and COX-2: 40.57% ± 1.99), lipoxygenase (15-LOX: 65.72% ± 1.44), and phospholipase A2 (sPLA2: 49.29% ± 1.75), when treated with different concentrations of F. oxysporum . HPLC analyses showed a significant accumulation of pharmacologically active components in the treated samples, with kaempferol (1245.56 mg g −1 ) and myricetin (1139.63 mg g −1 ) as the most accumulated compounds in the cultures with 10.0 mg L −1 concentration of Fusarium in contrast to the control. These findings revealed that in callus cultures of F. indica , F. oxysporum could boost biomass accumulation and secondary metabolite production.