EVALUATION OF THE RELATION BETWEEN THE ENDOGENOUS SCOPOLETIN AND SCOPOLIN LEVEL OF SOME SOLANACEOUS AND PAPAVER CELL-SUSPENSIONS AND THEIR ABILITY TO BIOCONVERT SCOPOLETIN TO SCOPOLIN

Endogenous scopolin and its aglycon scopoletin were tested in various plant cell suspensions by HPLC; The results indicate that the levels o f these compounds varied greatly from one plant cell suspension to ano ther (10(-3)-5 mg/g dry mass), Both scopoletin and scopolin were detec ted in the Nicotiana tabacum L. cell suspensions while only scopolin w as detected in the Duboisia myoporoides R.Br., Solanum aviculare Forst . and Papaver somniferum L. cells. The identity of this scopolin was c onfirmed by MMR and MS data. Neither of these compounds was accumulate d in the Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viv. cell suspensions. Moreover, al l the cell suspensions, except N. tabacum could bioconvert exogenous s copoletin to scopolin. The yield of the bioconversion varied from one cell suspension to another (21-92%). No correlation could be establish ed between the capacity of the cells to bioconvert scopoletin to scopo lin and the endogenous scopolin level. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Irela nd Ltd.