Production of cytotoxic compounds in dedifferentiated cells ofJatropha curcasL. (Euphorbiaceae)

Abstract

This study addresses thein vitroculture as an alternative to obtain compounds with cytotoxic activity from the medicinal plantJatropha curcas(Euphorbiaceae). We determined the presence of cytotoxic compounds in both whole plants and dedifferentiated cells. We evaluated the effect of auxin, cytokinins and light on callus induction in cotyledon explants. We found that the most effective combination to induce callus was the auxin 2,4-D (5 mM) with the cytokinin 6-BAP (2.5 mM), on Murashige-Skoog medium in darkness. We compared the callogenic potential among accessions from different geographic origins, finding that ARR-251107-MFG7 is most prone to form callus. The roots ofJ. curcasgrown in field produced a compound chromatographically similar to the cytotoxic diterpene jatrophone. The profile of compounds extracted from the dedifferentiated cells was similar to that of the whole plant, including a relatively abundant stilbene-like compound. This study contributes to the future establishment of protocols to produce anti-cancer compounds fromJ. curcascultivated in vitro.