The effect of methyl jasmonate on production of antioxidant compounds in shoot cultures of Salvia officinalis L.

The shoots of Salvia officinalis growing in MS liquid medium supplemented with IAA 0.1 mg l-1) and BAP (0.45 mg l-1) were treated with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to increase production of compounds with antioxidant activity (carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid). The increase in metabolite production depended on MeJA concentration, the period of exposure to elicitor and type of compound. The MeJA action was observed 24 h after elicitation. It was found that the maximum level of diterpenoids, calculated as the sum of CA and Car (about 8 mg g-1 dry wt) was achieved at 3 days after elicitation with 20 μM methyl jasmonate. The highest amount of rosmarinic acid (about 41 mg g-1 dry wt) was achieved with 50 or 100 μM methyl jasmonate on the 5th day after elicitation. It was almost 2-fold higher compared to the control (cultures treated with only ethanol).