Increases of secondary metabolite production in various plant cell cultures by co-cultivation with cork

Cork tissues increased secondary metabolite production of various plant cel l cultures in a different manner from those of conventional elicitors. In S ophora flavescens and Glycyrrhiza glabra cultured cells, cork tissues incre ased the amounts of both lipophilic and hydrophilic flavonoids without affe cting the cell growth, although elicitors such as copper ion and yeast extr acts showed a clear inhibition of tell growth with the increasing amount of these lipophilic ones. The validity of this effect of cork tissues covered a wide range of aromatic compounds produced by suspension cell cultures de rived from diverse plant species. Woody tissues of Japanese cypress had a v ery similar effect to that of cork. Partial purification of cork tissues su ggested that the production-stimulating factor was present in the hemicellu lose B fraction that was not included in the dedifferentiated cultured tiss ues.