Solasodine production from cell culture of Solanum hainanense Hance

Stem explants of Solanum hainanense Hance plantlets were cultured on Murashige and Skoog solid medium, containing 3% (w/v) sucrose, supplemented with 0.1 mg/L benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1.0 mg/L 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) for callus production. To establish the cell suspension culture, 3 g of fresh callus were cultured in 50 mL of the same medium, but without a solid agent, at an agitation speed of 120 rpm. Every 15 mL of culture was sub-cultured in fresh MS liquid medium for maintenance. The cell biomass of S. hainanense reached a maximum value of 18.47 g after 4 weeks of culture on the same MS medium, but with the sucrose content increased to 4%, at an agitation speed of 150 rpm, with 20 mL of inoculum. Analysis via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that the solasodine content in the cell suspension after 4-weeks old (121.01 mg/g) was higher than that of in planta 1-year old roots (20.52 mg/g) by approximately 6-fold.