Establishment of callus from <i>Opuntia robusta</i> Wendl., a wild and medicinal cactus, for phenolic compounds production

Abstract

In this work, a protocol for the establishment of callus cultures from Opuntia robusta, a wild and medicinal cactus, was developed. The effects of plant growth regulators and culture media composition on callus development were evaluated.The best response was observed on Murashige and Skoog medium added with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, benzyladenine, biotin, casein hydrolysate and proline. The exposure of O. robusta callus to jasmonic acid increased 1.3-fold and 3-fold total phenolic acids and flavonoids concentration, respectively. The in vitro culture from O. robusta could be a new approach for the obtainment of metabolites with pharmaceutical and/or nutraceutical value.

Keywords: Callus, flavonoids, jasmonic acid, wild Opuntia, phenols

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(21), pp. 3204-3207