Alkaloid synthesis and accumulation in Leucojum aestivum in vitro cultures

The alkaloids of intact plants, calli and shoot-clump cultures of L. aestivum were analyzed by GC-MS. Twenty-four alkaloids were detected. Calli appeared to produce sparse alkaloid profiles in stark contrast to shoot-clumps that had similar profiles to those of the intact plant. Seven shoot-clump strains produced galanthamine predominantly whereas another three were dominated by lycorine. Shoot-clump strains cultivated under light accumulated about two-times more galanthamine (an average of 74 microg/g of dry weight) than those cultivated in darkness (an average of 39 microg/g of dry weight). In comparison to intact plants, the shoot-clumps accumulated 5-times less galanthamine. The high variability of both the galanthamine content (67% and 75% of coefficient of variation under light and darkness conditions, respectively) and alkaloid patterns indicates that the shoot-clump cultures initiated from callus could be used as a tool for improvement of the in vitro cultures.