Effects of MeJA and SA elicitation on secondary metabolic activity, antioxidant content and callogenesis in Phyllanthus pulcher

To develop in vitro callus induction of Phyllanthus pulcher and investigate secondary metabolite activities, methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) as two abiotic elicitors were evaluated. Growth and secondary metabolite production of callus from P. pulcher grown in Murashige and Skoog medium, supplemented with 1 mg L −1 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2, 4-D) and SA with a lower concentration (≤5 mg L −1 ) showed a significant effect on callus fresh weight, while the dry weight was not affected significantly by higher concentrations. However, in secondary metabolite content, including total flavonoid and phenolic contents and antioxidant activities, significant differences among different SA concentrations were observed. The results revealed that the high concentration of MeJA (>10 mM) inhibits the callus growth, and 1 mM of MeJA resulted in the highest yield for total flavonoid and phenolic contents and antioxidant activity. A very strong positive relationship (0.969) among TFC, TPC, and antioxidant activity was revealed.