The study examines the phenolic compounds in hydromethanolic extracts of Salix alba (L.) leaves and bark as well as their antioxidant activity and cytotoxic potential. UPLC-PDA-Q/TOF-MS analysis showed a total of 29 phenolic compounds in leaves and 34 in bark. Total phenolic compound content was 5575.96 mg/100 g of dry weight (DW) in leaves and 2330.31 mg/100 g DW in bark. The compounds were identified as derivatives of phenolic acids (seven in leaves and five in bark), flavanols and procyanidins (eight in leaves and 26 in bark) and flavonols (14 in leaves and three in bark). Both extracts exhibited strong antioxidant potential, assessed by radical scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), but the bark extract was even stronger than the ascorbic acid used as a standard. The cytotoxicity of both extracts was evaluated against human skin fibroblasts and human epidermal keratinocytes cell lines using the Presto Blue cell viability assay. The keratinocytes were more resistant to tested extracts than fibroblasts. The leaf and bark extracts at concentrations which exhibited antioxidant activity were also not toxic against the keratinocyte cell line. Thus, S. alba extracts, especially the leaf extract, offer promise as a nontoxic natural antioxidant, in cosmetic products or herbal medicines, and as a source of bioactive secondary metabolites.

Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch., a valuable medicinal plant, was successfully propagated in vitro using shoot tip explants. Shoot multiplication was performed in glass tubes and in a nutrient sprinkle bioreactor. A mixture of 0.1 mg L -1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1.0 mg L -1 of 6-benzylaminopurine in Murashige and Skoog (MS) agar-solidified medium proved the best combination for multiple shoot induction, yielding 8.2 shoots per explant after 4 weeks of culture in glass tubes. The number of shoots increased to 21 per explant when the same combination of growth regulators was used in a nutrient sprinkle bioreactor. The shoots rooted with a frequency of 93 % after 6 weeks of culture on MS agar medium supplemented with IAA (0.1 mg L -1 ) before being acclimatized in the greenhouse. The antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts from the leaves and roots of the in vitro-regenerated plants of R. glutinosa cultivated in the greenhouse were evaluated using four in vitro assays: scavenging of free radicals (DPPH and ABTS), transition metal reduction and total antioxidant activity phosphomolybdenum test. In all cases, the methanolic extract from leaves demonstrated better antioxidant activity than those taken from roots. A strong correlation was found between total phenolic and flavonoid content, and the antioxidant capacity of the studied extracts.

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Rehmannia glutinosa hairy roots were used to evaluate the effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) and salicylic acid (SA) on increase of root biomass and production of iridoids (catalpol, harpagide) and phenylethanoids (verbascoside and isoverbascoside). The elicitors were added to 23-day-old culture separately at concentrations between 50 and 200 μM or in combinations at concentrations of 50 and 100 μM. Roots were harvested 72 h and 120 h after elicitation. The type of elicitor, its concentration and exposure time were found to strongly affect the content of each analyzed compound. A 72-hour treatment with 200 μM MeJa was the most effective in increase of verbascoside content (60.07 mg·DW -1 equivalent to 845.45 mg·L -1 ) and isoverbascoside (1.77 mg·DW -1 equivalent to 24.94 mg·L -1 ): these respective amounts were roughly 10-and 6.4-fold higher than the control values (unelicited roots). Exposure to 150 μM MeJa provided optimal harpagide content after 72 hours (0.136 mg·DW -1 ; 7.5-fold increase compared to the control), and catalpol content after 120 hours (up to 2.145 mg·DW -1 ). The combination of MeJa and SA also resulted in higher levels of secondary metabolites compared to the control culture, although these levels were lower than those observed for MeJa alone at the optimal concentration and exposure time. SA alone was less efficient in enhancing metabolite production than MeJa.

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Hairy roots of Centaurium erythraea were obtained by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LBA 9402. They spontaneously regenerated adventitious shoots in Woody Plant liquid medium without growth regulators. The shoots were grown continuously in Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid or agar solidified media supplemented with 0.1 mg l(-1) indole-3-acetic acid and 1.0 mg l(-1) 6-benzylaminopurine. These shoots produced roots 4 weeks after transfer into agar-solidified MS medium without phytohormones. Regenerated plants grown and flowered under greenhouse conditions. The transgenic value of the regenerated plants was confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction amplification. Transformation by Agrobacterium rhizogenes alters plant morphology and production of secoiridoid glucosides. The level of secoiridoids was also modified by development stage of transformed plants. The total content of the compounds (expressed as the sum of gentiopicroside, sweroside and swertiamarin) in 10-week old pRi-transformed regenerants was 280 mg g(-1) dry weight and was 8-times the content in the sample of commercially available C. erythraea herb.

The composition of volatile organic compounds emitted by in vitro shoots of Agastache rugosa (Fischer & C.A. Meyer) O. Kuntze (Lamiaceae) was studied using headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and compared to the those emitted by adult plants and in vitro-germinated seedlings. Shoot-tip explants were cultured on a solid MS medium supplemented with either 4.4 lM 6-benzyladenine (BA), 9.3 lM kinetin, or 0.45 lM thidiazuron and with either 0.57 lM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) or 0.41 lM picloram. Shoot proliferation was observed in all these treatments. The presence of these plant growth regulators in the culture medium significantly influenced the composition of volatiles as well as morphogenetic responses observed. The number and quality of regenerating shoots and frequency of axillary bud break were highest in medium containing the BA ? IAA combination. Sixty-five compounds were identified in the headspace of the in vitroproduced material and plants cultivated in the field. The in vitro shoots emitted both hydrocarbon (limonene, a-pinene) and oxidized (menthone, isomenthone, pulegone) monoterpenes. The composition of monoterpenes differed depending on the type of auxin-rather than cytokinin-in the medium. The emission of phenylallyl compounds, such as estragole, a major compound in field-grown plants, was markedly lower in shoot cultures.

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