Abstract
Plant tissue cultures represent an attractive alternative source of valuable natural substances. Many strategies have been proposed for improving production yields, among others, elicitation with heavy metals. In this work, the effect was investigated of copper(II) sulfate (at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 200 μM) on scopoletin production, as well as on cell growth in Angelica archangelica (angelica) suspension cultures with the cultures maintained in the dark and in the light. Copper(II) sulfate up to 100 μM did not significantly affect either fresh or dry biomass in the cultures grown in either the dark or light, but at 200 μM they were slightly reduced. Copper(II) sulfate stimulated accumulation of scopoletin in a dose-dependent manner both in the cells and in the culture medium. Moreover, concerning scopoletin production, the cultures showed different sensitivity to copper ions depending on light conditions. The highest yields of scopoletin were found at copper concentrations of 5-50 μM and 50 μM in the light- and dark-grown cultures, respectively. Copper(II) sulfate has proved to be a suitable elicitor for improvement of scopoletin accumulation in cell suspension cultures of A. archangelica.