Effect of elicitors on xanthone accumulation and biomass production in hairy root cultures of Gentiana dinarica

The effect of abiotic (salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and methyl jasmonate) and biotic (chitosan and yeast extract) elicitors on the growth and xanthone accumulation in two hairy root clones of Gentiana dinarica Beck. was studied. The obtained results showed that clone 3 was more responsive to elicitor treatment than clone D. The production of dominant xanthone norswertianin-1-O-primeveroside was not significantly affected by either of the abiotic elicitor tested but was stimulated with chitosan treatment. The highest concentrations of all elicitors strongly increased the content of xanthone aglycone norswertianin, but simultaneously reducing the production of its glycoside norswertianin-1-O-primeveroside. The most efficient in enhancing norswertianin production was a 7-day treatment with salicylic acid (200 μM) and chitosan (50 mg l− 1), which yielded a 7.7- and a 24-fold increase in norswertianin content, respectively. In addition, treatment with biotic elicitors caused the occurrence of new xanthone compounds that were not detected in other samples. Free radical scavenging activity of xanthones was carried out by DPPH assay, and norswertianin showed the strongest activity.