An investigation
of elicitation and precursor feeding to increased imperatorin synthesis in hairy
root culture of Urena lobata L.
Duy Nguyen Minh, Phuong Quach Ngo Diem and Dai Cao Minh
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(5); 206-214;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/205rjbt2060214; (2025)
Abstract
Imperatorin is a furocoumarin found in the natural roots of Urena lobata L., which
has valuable medicinal properties. In this study, precursors (L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine
and umbelliferone), biotic elicitors (chitosan, yeast extract) and abiotic elicitors
(salicylic acid, copper (II) sulfate) were applied to the hairy roots of U. lobata
to enhance the imperatorin synthesis in hope of effectively creating a proactive
source of materials for pharmaceutical production. The results revealed that the
precursor was ineffective at increasing imperatorin accumulation. Meanwhile, all
elicitors significantly revealed an outstanding result, which enhanced the imperatorin
accumulation when compared to the non-feeding control.
The biotic elicitors group significantly enhanced imperatorin accumulation in hairy
roots compared with the abiotic elicitors group. After 4 days of elicitation, the
increase in imperatorin accumulation was prominent, with 498.29 μg in the 10 mg
L1 chitosan treatment, 36.08-fold higher than the non-feeding control. The findings
of this study showed that chitosan could be an appropriate strategy to enhance imperatorin
production in hairy root culture of U. lobata.
