The Effects of Some Additives on Growth and Solasodine Production by Callus cultures of Solanum spps.

Abstract

The established pharmaceutical steroid products derived from plants, mainly include the corticosteroids, contraceptives, sex hormones and anabolic agents. The majority of the steroid drugs are made by partial synthesis. The commercially valuable precursors are diosgenin, stigmasterol, cholesterol, and solasodine, Solasodine is obtained from some Solanum spps. Which are potential raw materials for steroid drug manufacturing. In order to study the production of solasodine by callus cultures of Solanum, some species including (1) S. nigrum (native in Indonesia), (2) S. nigrum (native in Thailand), (3) S. verbascifolium (native in Thailand), (4) S. khasianum (native in India) were cultivated in vitro on RT medium containing 2,4-D 1 mg/l, IBA 1 mg/l and BAP 0.6 mg/l in dark and light conditions. The additives were cholesterol 50 mg/l, cholic acid 10 mg/l, phloroglucinol 50 mg/l or coumarin 50 mg/l. These chemical compounds exerted certain effects on the growth and solasodine production of the tested Solanum cultures.