THE PRODUCTION OF IMPERATORIN FROM ANGELI CA DAHURICA VAR FORMOSANA BY CELL-SUSPENSION CULTURE

Bai-Zhi (Angelica dahurica) is a valuable medicinal plant used as sour ce of curatives for headache and skin disease in China. The purpose of this study was to establish cell suspension culture as alternative so urce of imperatorin, the major active ingredient of the species. The f ormulation of MS basic salts, modified by increasing the phosphate con centration to 2 mM and using an ammonium to nitrate ratio of 2:1, prov ided the best imperatorin production. Glucose was a better carbon sour ce than sucrose and fructose. The addition of 0.5-1 mg/l of BA to the culture medium increased imperatorin yield, whereas auxins produced on ly negative effects. Supplementing the medium with 20g/l of the adsorb ent Amberlite XAD-7 increased imperatorin yield 140-fold.