Nay Min Min Thaw Saw

Effects of pulsed electric field on secondary metabolism of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Gamay Fréaux suspension culture and exudates.

Plant cell cultures provide a large potential for the production of secondary metabolites. Through the application of different physical and chemical cell stress factors, we investigated the production of the secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures. The effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) and ethephon on growth and secondary metabolism, particularly anthocyanins and phenolic acids synthesis, were investigated by using suspension culture of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Gamay Fréaux as a model system. Anthocyanins were measured by spectrophotometer and extracellular phenolic acids were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The compounds were identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. After the treatments with PEF and ethephon, the concentrations of anthocyanins and phenolic acids in cell culture were higher than in the control, without loss of biomass. The combination of PEF treatment and ethephon improved secondary metabolites formation. Production levels of extracellular phenolic acids, 3-O-glucosyl-resveratrol were increased by PEF and ethephon treatments. The results show that PEF induced a defense response of plant cells and may have altered the cell/membrane’s dielectric properties. PEF, an external stimulus or stress, is proposed as a promising new abiotic elicitor for stimulating secondary metabolites biosynthesis in plant cell cultures.

Improvement of Antioxidant Activities in Red Cabbage Sprouts by Lactic Acid Bacterial Fermentation

In the present study, the influence of three types of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Danisco, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG E522 (ATCC 53103)) on antioxidant activities of fermented red cabbage sprouts was determined and compared with those of their unfermented/control counterparts. The fermentation resulted in a significant increase (p < 0.05) of antioxidant functionalities as measured by four assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like, and β-carotene/linoleic bleaching. The most considerable shift in the antioxidant activities was observed after 24 h of fermentation. These increases were followed by a decrease in total phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, and L-ascorbic acid and by an increase in flavonoids, flavonols, and several phenolic acids (gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, trans-3-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic, and trans-o-hydroxycinnamic acid) content. The relationship between the antioxidant activities and the compositional changes in antioxidant compounds due to LAB fermentation was observed. Fermented red cabbage sprouts inoculated with L. plantarum had the highest antioxidant activities (DPPH scavenging: 70.92%; TEAC: 1.94 mM Trolox equivalent; SOD-like activity: 63.40%, and β-carotene/linoleic bleaching: 44.33%), which was almost two-fold higher than those of unfermented treatments. These results indicated that LAB fermentation could be applied as a method to improve the potent antioxidant activities of red cabbage sprouts.

Investigation of Phenolic Acids in Suspension Cultures of Vitis vinifera Stimulated with Indanoyl-Isoleucine, N-Linolenoyl-L-Glutamine, Malonyl Coenzyme A and Insect Saliva

Vitis vinifera c.v. Muscat de Frontignan (grape) contains various high valuable bioactive phenolic compounds with pharmaceutical properties and industrial interest which are not fully exploited. The focus of this investigation consists in testing the effects of various biological elicitors on a non-morphogenic callus suspension culture of V. vinifera. The investigated elicitors: Indanoyl-isoleucine (IN), N-linolenoyl-L-glutamine (LG), insect saliva (IS) and malonyl coenzyme A (MCoA) were aimed at mimicking the influence of environmental pathogens on plants in their natural habitats and at provoking exogenous induction of the phenylpropanoid pathway. The elicitors’ indanoyl-isoleucine (IN), N-linolenoyl-L-glutamine (LG) and insect saliva (IS), as well as malonyl coenzyme A (MCoA), were independently inoculated to stimulate the synthesis of phenylpropanoids. All of the enhancers positively increased the concentration of phenolic compounds in grape cells. The highest concentration of phenolic acids was detected after 2 h for MCoA, after 48 h for IN and after 24 h for LG and IS respectively. At the maximum production time, treated grape cells had a 3.5-fold (MCoA), 1.6-fold (IN) and 1.5-fold (IS) higher phenolic acid content compared to the corresponding control samples. The HPLC results of grape cells showed two major resveratrol derivatives: 3-O-Glucosyl-resveratrol and 4-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-phenol. Their influences of the different elicitors, time of harvest and biomass concentration (p < 0.0001) were statistically significant on the synthesis of phenolic compounds. The induction with MCoA was found to demonstrate the highest statistical effect corresponding to the strongest stress response within the phenylpropanoid pathway in grape cells.