coagulans

Abstract: Root cultures of Withania coagulans (Solanaceae) were obtained from in vitro germinated sterile plantlets. The roots grew axenically in MS medium containing 0.25 mgL-1 indole-3-butyric acid and 30 gL-1 sucrose. A RP-HPLC method for the determination of withanolides in plant tissues was developed using a binary gradient solvent system comprising acetonitrile and water containing 0.1 % (v/v) acetic acid. The method was validated according to ICH guidelines. The linearity was found to be in the range of 1.2-720 µLmL-1. The method described is simple, sensitive, accurate and reproducible. The developed method was applied for quantification of withanolides level in cultured roots of W. coagulans. The root cultures synthesized withanolides of which withaferin A was the major compound. The productivity of withaferin A in the three-week-old cultured roots was 11.65 µgg-1. Withaferin A production showed consistent increase with root growth during the three weeks of culture period. Industrial relevance: Plant tissue culture can be a potential source for important secondary metabolites such as pharmaceuticals and food additives. This technology depends on using plant cultures in a similar manner to microbial fermentation for factory-type production of target metabolites. The technology bears many advantages over conventional agricultural methods: production is independent of variation in crop quality or failure, yield of target compounds would be constant and geared to demand, there is no difficulty in applying goo