Production of imidazole alkaloids in cell cultures of jaborandi as affected by the medium pH

Abstract

The effect of pH (from 4.8 to 9.8) on the production of pilosine and pilocarpine and on their partition between cell and medium was studied in two lineages (P and PP) of Pilocarpus microphyllus cell suspension cultures. Highest mass accumulation was observed at high pHs and both lineages produced pilocarpine while only lineage PP produced pilosine. Both alkaloids were released in the medium but higher accumulation occurred in the cells. The highest production of pilocarpine was at pH 8.8-9.8 in both cell lineages. Other imidazole alkaloids were also identified in both lineages. At all pHs tested, the pH in the media cultures tended to stabilize around 6 after 10-15 days of cultivation. NO(3) (-) and NH(4) (+) variation in the media might partially explain the pH stabilization.

Keywords

Medium pH; Membrane transporters; Pilocarpine; Pilocarpus microphyllus; Pilosine

Published in

Biotechnology Letters
2009, Volume: 31, number: 4, pages: 607-614

UKÄ Subject classification

Botany


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-008-9895-y

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/86505