Relations between photosynthetic performance and polyphenolics productivity of Artemisia alba Turra in in vitro tissue cultures

Abstract

Establishing optimal growth conditions for secondary metabolites production in vitro is vital for the biotechnological development of medicinal plants. In the present work we investigate the relations between the supplementation of plant growth regulators (benzyl adenine and indole-3-butyric acid) to in vitro shoot cultures of the medicinal plant Artemisia alba Turra, the productivity of antioxidant polyphenolic compounds and the structural and functional characteristics of the photosynthetic apparatus. We assayed the structural characteristics of isolated thylakoid membranes from the aerial parts by means of circular dichroism spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the photosynthetic performance by pulse amplitude fluorescence modulated imaging. Although a complex relationship between benzyl adenine and indole-3-butyric acid supplementation, the polyphenolic levels and the architecture and functionality of the photosynthetic thylakoid membranes was revealed, a clear correlation was established between the concentration of the produced polyphenolic compounds and the quantum yield of photosystem II. Our data demonstrate that there is an optimal combination of the applied plant growth regulators that triggers efficient photosynthesis and high phenolics production.

Keywords

• Photosynthesys
• Artemisia alba Turra
• Polyphenolic compounds
• in vitro shoot cultures