Phenolic Acids and Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids Profiles in Leucojum aestivum L. In Vitro Plants Grown under Different Light Conditions

Abstract

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have emerged as efficient light sources for promoting in vitro plant growth and primary and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. This study investigated the effects of blue, red, and white-red LED lights on plant biomass growth, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, phenolic compounds, the production of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in Leucojum aestivum L. cultures. A white fluorescent light was used as a control. The plants that were grown under white-red and red light showed the highest fresh biomass increments. The blue light stimulated chlorophyll a, carotenoid, and flavonoid production. The white-red and blue lights were favourable for phenolic acid biosynthesis. Chlorogenic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, and benzoic acids were identified in plant materials, with ferulic acid dominating. The blue light had a significant beneficial effect both on galanthamine (4.67 µg/g of dry weight (DW)) and lycorine (115 µg/g DW) biosynthesis. Red light treatment increased catalase and superoxide dismutase activities, and high catalase activity was also observed in plants treated with white-red and blue light. This is the first report to provide evidence of the effects of LED light on the biosynthesis of phenolic acid and Amaryllidaceae alkaloids in L. aestivum cultures, which is of pharmacological importance and can propose new strategies for their production.

Integrated Analysis of Morphological, Physiological, Anatomical and Molecular Responses of Cassava Seedlings to Different Light Qualities

“…Red and blue lights are the main light types that regulate stomatal movement, but this is subject to significant species-specific differences [ 20 , 21 ]. Red and blue lights also regulate the accumulation of chlorophyll a, carotenoid and flavonoid production [ 22 ]. Light quality is a critical environmental factor in tissue culture.…”

“…Light quality is a critical environmental factor in tissue culture. Recently, reports have studied the impact of various light spectra on the growth of plants in vitro in many species, including pitaya [ 17 ], potato [ 18 ], Cinchona officinalis [ 19 ], Leucojum aestivum [ 22 ], Swertia chirayita [ 23 ], Pyrus communis [ 24 ], Valencia orange [ 25 ] and banana [ 26 ]. However, to date, no such study has been conducted on in vitro-grown cassava plants.…”