Dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans are a specific group of secondary metabolites that occur solely in Schisandra chinensis. The aim of the presented work was to boost the accumulation of lignans in the agitated microshoot cultures of S. chinensis, using different elicitation schemes. The experiments included testing of various concentrations and supplementation times of cadmium chloride (CdCl₂), chitosan (Ch), yeast extract (YeE), methyl jasmonate (MeJa), and permeabilizing agent—dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). After 30 days, the microshoots were harvested and evaluated for growth parameters and lignan content by LC-DAD method. The analyses showed enhanced production of lignans in the elicited S. chinensis microshoots, whereas the respective media samples contained only trace amounts of the examined compounds (< 5 mg/l). Elicitation with CdCl₂ caused up to 2-fold increase in the total lignan content (max. ca. 730 mg/100 g DW after the addition of 1000 μM CdCl₂ on the tenth day). Experiments with chitosan resulted in up to 1.35-fold increase in lignan concentration (max. ca. 500 mg/100 g DW) after the supplementation with 50 mg/l on the first day and 200 mg/l on the tenth day. High improvement of lignan production was also recorded after YeE elicitation. After the elicitation with 5000 mg/l of YeE on the first day of the growth period, and with 1000 and 3000 mg/l on the 20th day, the lignan production increased to the same degree—about 1.8-fold. The supplementation with 1000 mg/l YeE on the 20th day of the growth cycle was chosen as the optimal elicitation scheme, for the microshoot cultures maintained in Plantform temporary immersion system—the total content of the estimated lignans was equal to 831.6 mg/100 g DW.

In the presented work, raw materials (fruits and leaves) and in vitro biomass of a highly productive Schisandra chinensis Sadova No. 1 cultivar (SchS) were evaluated for the production of therapeutically useful schisandra lignans (SL). In vitro cultures of SchS were initiated, followed by extensive optimization studies focused on maximizing secondary metabolite production, with the aim of establishing a sustainable source of SL. Different cultivation systems (agar, agitated, bioreactor), experiment times (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days) and plant growth regulators (6-benzyladenine—BA and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid—NAA, from 0 to 3 mg/l) in Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium were tested. Moreover, an elicitation procedure was applied to bioreactor-grown microshoots in order to increase SL production. Validated HPLC-DAD protocol enabled to detect fourteen SL in the extracts from in vitro and in vivo materials. The main compounds in the in vitro cultures were as follows: schisandrin (max. 176.3 mg/100 g DW), angeloylgomisin Q (max. 85.1 mg/100 g DW), gomisin A (max. 71.4 mg/100 g DW) and angeloylgomisin H (max. 67.0 mg/100 g DW). The highest total SL content (490.3 mg/100 g DW) was obtained in extracts from the biomass of agar cultures cultivated for 30 days on the MS medium variant containing 3 mg/l BA and 1 mg/l NAA. This amount was 1.32 times lower than in fruit extracts (646.0 mg/100 g DW) and 2.04 times higher than in leaf extracts (240.7 mg/100 g DW). The study demonstrated that SchS is a rich source of SL, thus proving its value for medical, cosmetic and food industry.

Salvia apiana, commonly known as white sage, is an aromatic evergreen subshrub of the chaparral, commonly found in coastal plains in California and Baja California. It has been traditionally used by the Chumash people as a ritual and medicinal plant and used as a calmative, a diuretic, and a remedy for the common cold. However, until recently, relatively little has been known about the composition and biological activity of white sage. Phytochemical studies on S. apiana revealed the presence of substantial amounts of essential oil, accompanied by a variety of triterpenes, C23 terpenoids, diterpenes, and flavonoids. Extracts of the plant have been shown to exhibit antioxidative, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic effects. The influence of white sage constituents on the nervous system, including GABA, opioid, and cannabinoid receptors, has also been documented. The review aimed to compile information on the taxonomy, botany, chemical composition, and biological activities of S. apiana. White sage was compared with other representatives of the genus in terms of chemical composition. The differences and similarities between S. apiana and other sage species were noted and discussed in the context of their therapeutic applications. Reports on ethnomedicinal uses of white sage were confronted with reports on chemistry, bioactivity, and bioavailability of S. apiana constituents. Finally, a critical assessment of the available data was made and perspectives for the use of white sage preparations in modern phytomedicine were discussed.

For the first time, adventitious and hairy root cultures of Salvia apiana (white sage) have been established and analyzed for the content of secondary metabolites. Non-transformed roots derived from sterile seedlings were maintained on a full-strength IBA-supplemented SH medium. Adventitious roots yielded up to 44.5 mg/g and 18.7 mg/g DW rosmarinic acid when grown in shake flasks and immersion-column bioreactors, respectively. Transformed root cultures were established from S. apiana microshoots, infected with A4 and LBA9402 strains of Rhizobium rhizogenes. The obtained hairy root cultures (three and two clonal lines established using A4 and LBA9402 strains, respectively) were maintained in the PGR-free, full-strength SH medium. The most productive root line, established using A4 strain, accumulated rosmarinic acid at 38.1 and 39.6 mg/g DW when grown in shake flasks and spray bioreactors, respectively. Neither adventitious nor transformed roots of S. apiana produced diterpenoids, identified in roots of the field-grown plants, and instead proved to be a selective source of rosmarinic acid.

Rhododendron tomentosum Harmaja is a marsh plant known for its high content of bioactive components, including essential oil, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. In the current work, the effects of cultivation mode (agar, liquid stationary, shake flask, and temporary immersion) and experiment duration (30, 60, and 90 days) on the growth and contents of non-volatile phenolics in Rhododendron tomentosum microshoots were investigated. Agar and liquid stationary cultures provided the highest dry biomass yield per liter, but their dry weight productivities per day were the lowest among the tested systems. Agitated and temporary immersion cultures, on the other hand, were the most productive in terms of fresh and dry biomass yield per day. LC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis of extracts from microshoots and wild-grown plants revealed similarities in phenolic composition: in both cases, the presence of catechin, chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids of flavonol type (mainly glycosides of quercetin and myricetin) was confirmed. The qualitative composition of the phenolic fraction was not affected by experiment duration and cultivation mode. As determined by HPLC analysis, shake flask and temporary immersion cultures were characterized by the highest phenolic contents: up to 37.5 and 26 mg/g dry weight, respectively. The maximum productivities of the above systems were equal to 18 and 13.5 mg/L/d, respectively.