Effects of elicitors on the enhancement of asiaticoside biosynthesis in cell cultures of centella (Centella asiatica L. Urban)

In this work, the effects of elicitor concentration and elicitation day on the growth and asiaticoside production of centella cells were investigated. The results showed that 2-hydroxybenzoic acid from 50?C200 ??M and yeast extract from 2?C5 g L^?1 had different eliciting influences. The addition of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and yeast extract to the cultures strongly enhanced asiaticoside production in centella cells. The increase in asiaticoside content induced by the addition of 100 ??M of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and 4 g L^?1 of yeast extract at day 10 of inoculation was about 5- and 3.5-fold, respectively, as compared with that of the reference cells. In general, 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (abiotic elicitor) was more effective in enhancing asiaticoside biosynthesis than yeast extract (biotic elicitor).