Improvement of cell growth and production of ginseng saponin and polysaccharide in suspension cultures of Panax notoginseng : Cu2+ effect
Abstract The effects of initial cupric ion concentration on the improvement of the cell growth and production of ginseng saponin (a secondary metabolite) and polysaccharide (a primary metabolite) by suspension cultures of Panax notoginseng were investigated in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask. The results indicate that with an increase of initial medium Cu 2+ concentration within the range of 0 ~ 6.0 μ M, the cell growth was greatly improved, and leveled off at an even higher concentration of Cu 2+ i.e., 10.0 μM. The maximum saponin content did not significantly change in the range of Cu 2+ concentrations investigated (i.e., 0 ~ 10.0 μ M), but a relatively higher saponin production of 1.19 g 1 −1 was obtained at 10.0 μM of initial Cu 2+ . The highest content and production of ginseng polysaccharide i.e., 16.1% (based on cell dry weight) and 1.26 g 1 −1 , were attained at 1.0 μM of Cu 2+ . The highest productivity and yield of ginseng saponin (65.5 mg 1 −1 d −1 and 0.043 g g −1 ) and polysaccharide (62.6 mg 1 −1 d −1 and 0.041 g g −1 ) were obtained at 6.0 μM of initial medium Cu 2+ .