Induction of alkaloid diversity in hybrid plant cell cultures

The treatment of Rauwolfia serpentina x Rhazya stricta somatic hybrid cell suspension culture with 100 mu M of methyl jasmonate led to a general incre ase in indole alkaloid content and to qualitative changes in the alkaloid p attern. The content of Six alkaloids were investigated with respect to thei r content in both the cell biomass and nutrition medium. Intracellular 17-O -acetyl-norajmaline content on the 5th day after treatment had increased ab out 40-fold compared with the control culture. The respective concentration s of the other alkaloids increased by a factor of two to five. In total 26 indole alkaloids were identified in extracts of the methyl jasmonate-treate d culture by TLC, UV, MS and NMR data and comparison with reference alkaloi ds. The identification of macrophylline, yohimbine oxindole and yohimbine p seudoindoxyl has not been reported before in Rauwolfia serpentina or Rhazya stricta plants nor in cell cultures derived from these plants.