Bioactive Compounds in Wild, In vitro Obtained, Ex vitro Adapted, and Acclimated Plants of Centaurea davidovii (Asteraceae)

Abstract

In vitro cultures were initiated from a single seed of Centaurea davidovii. Whole plantlets were regenerated and cultivated for several months on agar-solidified nutrient media differing by their composition: basal MS medium, MS medium supplemented with plant growth regulators, and liquid MS medium. Plantlets were ex vitro adapted and successfully acclimated to open-air conditions; flowering was observed in some individuals in the first summer, and mass flowering during the second summer. The contents of the total flavonoids and the total phenolic compounds were determined spectrophotometrically in the leaves of the in vitro plantlets cultured on different media, and then compared with those in the leaves of the wild plants and in the leaves of the acclimated plants of the field plot. The sesquiterpene lactone 8α-(5′-hydroxyangeloyl)-salonitenolide was determined by HPLC in leaf samples of C. davidovii wild plants, in vitro obtained plantlets and ex vitro acclimated plants in the greenhouse and on the experimental field plot. The composition of the nutrient medium influenced the contents of all studied bioactive substances. The highest concentrations of all tested secondary metabolites were detected in the leaves of the acclimated plants during mass flowering, the content of the lactone reaching 56.2 mg/g DW, which was several times more than in the other leaf samples. The obtained results revealed both the effectiveness of biotechnological methods for propagation and conservation of rare and endangered plant species, and the possibility to use C. davidovii plants ex vitro acclimated to field conditions as a source of secondary metabolites with potential biological activity.