Liquid culture system for shoot multiplication and secoiridoid production in micropropagated plants of Centaurium erythraea Rafn

An efficient shoot multiplication method from shoot tips of Centaurium erythraea using liquid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.1 mg l−1) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (1.0 mg l−1) was developed. Under these conditions, almost 60 microshoots per explant were produced within 4 weeks. This is three times more as compared to shoots obtained on agar-solidified medium. Shoots taken from liquid culture were rooted with frequency 85% and 77% on hormone-free full-strength and half-strength MS medium, respectively within 6 and 4 weeks. The plantlets were transferred into soil and they survived acclimatization with 90% success, producing healthy plants, morphologically similar to plants derived from shoots grown on solid culture during their multiplication stage. The shoots of 10-week-old micropropagated plants of C. erythraea accumulated secoiridoid glucosides (gentiopicroside, swertiamarin and sweroside) up to 149 mg g−1 dry weight. The value was significantly higher than those achieved for other tested plant materials, such as shoot cultures and aerial parts of wild-grown plants. It is hoped, that the system using liquid shoot culture could be useful for large-scale micropropagation of C. erythraea plants with high production of pharmacologically important products.