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BACKGROUND Glucomannan (GM) is a polysaccharide of the mannan family of compounds found in some plant species. The dried and powdered tubers of some orchid species, collectively known as ‘salep powder,’ are a commercially important crop for human consumption and are one of the primary sources of GM. GM content is the primary indicator for the yield and quality of salep powder. We hypothesized that it would be more practical and accurate to measure GM content within tuber powder directly, prior to any purification or pre‐processing. The GM content of tubers of 14 different orchid species was evaluated and compared using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and an enzymatic colorimetric method. RESULTS Among the analyzed modes, the sum of the peak areas at 873 and 812 cm−1, which represent the CH bending attributed to the β‐pyranose form of d‐glucose and d‐mannose, respectively, gave the only confirmation using colorimetric methods. It was found that the tubers of Himantoglossum caprinum and Serapias vomeracea had the highest GM concentrations among the analyzed species. After conducting different pre‐processing steps on Serapias vomeracea tubers, it was found that treating the tubers with milk, or high temperature resulted in an apparent increase in GM concentrations. CONCLUSION Himantoglossum caprinum and Serapias vomeracea give the highest yields of GM and should be used for commercial horticulture. GM estimation should be made prior to any pre‐processing. FTIR spectroscopy is effective and reliable for directly comparing GM content of different orchid species, without the need for any purification or pre‐processing. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Serapias vomeracea is an economically important orchid species which is over-collected from nature, because of its glucomannan-rich tubers. Thus, optimization of in vitro culture methodology in this species is required to meet industrial needs and to secure its populations in nature. This study aimed to optimize the surface sterilization protocol for S. vomeracea seeds and to select the optimal seed germination medium by comparing the commonly used media in in vitro orchid culture. During seed surface sterilization, ethyl alcohol (EtOH) pre-treatment prior to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) treatment increased the disinfection success and viable seed yield when examined using the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) seed viability test. Also, low-g force centrifugation as an additional step in the surface sterilization method separated the seeds without embryo from the viable seeds and thereby decreased potential counting errors after incubation. Comparison of media showed that solid Knudson C (KN) medium induced the highest number of germinated seeds. However, seed germination success of Lindemann (LN) and Vacin & Went (VW) media was found to be higher when the media was used in liquid form. Half-strength liquid VW was the only medium that induced higher germination success than the other full-strength media. The highest number of ungerminated seeds was found when using KN medium whereas liquid VW medium gave the lowest number. In general, protocorm formation was triggered when the media were used in liquid form. However, rhizoid elongation was suppressed in liquid media. These findings suggest that this optimized seed surface sterilization method offers a simple and effective alternative to classical methods. Additionally, solid KN medium may be considered as a cost-effective and reliable alternative to other commonly-used complex media in S. vomeracea cultures.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of drought stress on Amsonia orientalis, an endangered ornamental plant with a limited natural distribution in Europe. Effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated drought stress (-0.15, -0.49, -1.03 and -1.76 MPa osmotic potentials) were tested on in vitro cultures. In general, root lengths and numbers, total protein, chlorophyll a and carotenoid contents were negatively influenced at elevated levels of the stress factor. The successive decrease in the tested osmotic potentials resulted in gradually higher H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline contents. Activities of the antioxidant enzymes, peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), were found to be enhanced in response to the decreasing osmotic potential tested, whereas increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was observed at the -0.15 MPa osmotic potential. Strong activation of POD enzymes under drought stress suggests that POD enzymes might have a major role in regulating the H2O2 content, while CAT has only a supplementary role in A. orientalis. These results indicated that although A. orientalis is susceptible to long-term drought, the species may survive during mild drought stress because the development of the plant was not totally inhibited but only limited. Nevertheless, the species should be introduced to well-irrigated lands, after evaluation of the soil’s water status, in order to ensure the continuation of its generations.