Saussurea medusa cell suspension cultures for flavonoid production

Saussurea medusa Maxim. is a valuable traditional Chinese herb. The flavonoids are the main active pharmaceutical compounds in this medicinal plant species and have effective anti-tumor and anti-inflammation properties. This species is now almost extinct in China because of over-exploitation. The establishment of plant cell cultures would be a promising alternative to avoid extinction of this species and establish cultivation for the production of bioactive flavonoids. The callus is induced from leaf explants of S. medusa on Murashiage and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 6-BA, 2 mg/L NAA, 30 g/L sucrose, and 5 g/L agar. A fine cell suspension is established from the induced light-yellow calluses in the MS liquid medium with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 mg/L BA, and 2.0 mg/L NAA for biosynthesis of flavonoids. The kinetics of cell growth and flavonoid accumulation in the cell suspension cultures are investigated. The highest dry weight and flavonoid production reach 17.2 g/L and 607.8 mg/L respectively after 15 d. Significantly high antioxidant activity and flavonoids accumulate in the cell suspension cultures of S. medusa.