Enhanced production of phenylpropanoid glycosides from in vitro cultures of Artanema sesamoides Benth

Artanema sesamoides Benth, a member of the Linderniaceae family, is an uncultivated medicinal plant native to Southeast Asia. Renowned for its rich content of phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs), including acteoside, this plant holds significant pharmaceutical value due to its high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and cell apoptosis regulation activities. Despite its pharmaceutical potential, the lower content of PPG in the plant makes the extraction difficult. This study is the first report on the production of PPGs from the in vitro cultures of A. sesamoides. Callus cultures were established from the leaves, nodes, and roots of the in vitro raised seedlings. Callus induction was successfully achieved on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with combinations of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and either naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) or indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from all the explants. Among them, the combination of 4.0 mg L^-1 BA and 0.1 mg L^-1 NAA showed the highest efficacy. Regeneration from callus was achieved on a hormone-free basal MS medium. HPLC analysis of the methanolic extract of callus showed elevated levels of PPGs, for example acteoside (0.98%), artanemoside A (2.14%), isoacteoside (0.11%), leucoseptoside A (0.08%), and martynoside (0.21%), compared to those detected in field-grown plant roots and in vitro roots. Since the content of PPGs in the field-grown plant is low and the extraction procedure is difficult, these findings highlight the promising potential of using in vitro cultures of A. sesamoides as a valuable source of PPGs for pharmaceutical applications.