Influence of the Abiotic Elicitors Ag Salts of Aspartic Acid Derivatives, Self-Organized in Nanofibers with Monomeric and Dimeric Molecular Structures, on the Antioxidant Activity and Stevioside Content in Micropropagated <i>Stevia rebaudiana</i> Bert.
Mariana Sichanova,
Maria Geneva,
Maria Petrova,
Kamelia Miladinova-Georgieva,
Elisaveta Kirova,
Trendafil Nedev,
Daniela Tsekova,
Viktoria Ivanova,
Antoaneta Trendafilova
Affiliations
Mariana Sichanova
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Maria Geneva
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Maria Petrova
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Kamelia Miladinova-Georgieva
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Elisaveta Kirova
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Trendafil Nedev
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Daniela Tsekova
Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8“St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd, 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria
Viktoria Ivanova
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Antoaneta Trendafilova
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
The use of nanomaterials in biotechnology for the in vitro propagation of medical plants and the accumulation of certain biologically active metabolites is becoming an efficient strategy. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the concentration (0, 1, 10, 50, and 100 mg L−1) of two types of nanofibers on the growth characteristics, the antioxidant status, and the production of steviol glycosides in micropropagated Stevia rebaudiana Bert. plantlets. The nanofibers were synthesized by aspartic acid derivatives (L-Asp) Ag salts self-organized into nanofibers with two different molecular structures: monomeric, containing one residue of L-Asp with one hydrophilic head which bonds one Ag ion (NF1-Ag salt); and dimeric, containing two residues of L-Asp with two hydrophilic heads which bond two Ag ions (NF2-Ag salt). An increase in the shoots from the explants’ number and length, biomass accumulation, and micropropagation rate was achieved in the plants treated with the NF1-Ag salt in concentrations from 1 to 50 mg L−1 after 30 days of in vitro proliferation compared to the NF2-Ag salt. In contrast, the plants grown on MS media supplemented with NF2-Ag salt exhibited an increase in the level of stevioside, rebaudioside A, and mono- (CQA) and dicaffeoylquinic (DCQA) acids as compared to the NF1-Ag salt.
