Chemical Composition of Wild Celery (Kelussia odoratissima) Cultured in-vitro and from Its Local Habitat

Abstract

Kelussia odoratissima (Apiaceae) is a medicinal plant indigenous to Iran. Previous studies revealed the antioxidant activity of metanolic extract and sedative property of this plant. Apart from pharmacological properties, which are attributed to its chemical compositions, mainly phthalides, shortage of this plant, limited to particular area of Iran, indicate the need of mass production and induction of its secondary metabolites. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the variations of plant chemical compositions between various parts of seedlings cultured in in-vitro system in comparison with plant samples cultured and grown from its local habitat. Plant samples were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). According to the results of in-vitro samples, 3-butyldine Phthalide at the range of 23.93 %, 27.2 % and 21.2 % and 3-n-Butyl Phthalide at the range of 70 %, 55.5 % and 64.9 % in tuberous roots, hypocotyls and cotyledon respectively were identified. Comparing the results of in-vitro samples with samples of plant from its local habitat, these results demonstrate that in-vitro culture of K. odoratissima has the strong potential of plant secondary metaboliteinduction.