Enhanced accumulation of decursin and decursinol angelate in root cultures and intact roots of Angelica gigas Nakai following elicitation

Angelica gigas root cultures were elicited with various elicitors, including yeast extract, chitin, methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, and copper, with the aim of increasing the production of decursin and decursinol angelate. The treatment of A. gigas root cultures with a combination of yeast extract (2 g l(-1)) and copper ion (0.5 mM) at the late exponential growth phase increased decursinol angelate accumulation up to 6.86 mg l(-1). The best elicitor preparation selected through in vitro experiments was also applied to roots of A. gigas whole plants grown in the field in order to investigate the potential of elicitation as a novel cultivation practice for producing medicinal herbs of improved quality. Biweekly treatments with the elicitor at 70 mg g l(-1) FW roots for 10 weeks before the annual harvest resulted in an increment in both plant yields and specific productivity of decursins by 1.5- and 1.7-fold, respectively. This result implies that in vitro screening of elicitors with the ultimate aim of in planta elicitation of whole plants could be effective in terms of time and expense. The elicitation technique reported here demonstrates it potential as a strategy for improving growth and active compounds productivity of medicinal plants through short-term and pre-harvest treatment of the elicitor preparation.