PHYCOCYANIN, A NEW ELICITOR FOR CAPSAICIN AND ANTHOCYANIN ACCUMULATION IN PLANT-CELL CULTURES

Elicitors of both fungal and bacterial origin that is, polysaccharides , proteins and fatty acids, are widely used for enhancement of seconda ry metabolites in plant cell cultures. In the present study, phycocyan in a natural blue pigment that is the major light-harvesting biliprote in in the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis - was used as an elicito r to enhance the accumulation of capsaicin and anthocyanin in Capsicum frutescens and Daucus carota cell cultures respectively. Phycocyanin at 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 mg% in capsicum cell cultures elicited a more than two-fold increase in capsaicin content with maximum productivity of 1 92 mu g/g fresh weight. Similarly in Daucus carota cell cultures a two -fold increase in anthocyanin content was obtained at 0.3 mg% with a m aximum productivity of 24.8 mg% on a dry-weight basis. In both the sys tems, phycocyanin showed an early elicitation of secondary metabolites .