Correlation of endogenous β-glucuronidase activity with differentiation of in vitro cultures of Scutellaria baicalensis

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between the contents of principal flavones of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and the activity of endogenous b-glucuronidase (sGUS) in differentiated and undifferentiated in vitro cultures grown on solid and liquid medium. Using RP-HPLC, it was shown that sGUS activity did not correlate with the increase in biomass of cultures, but depended on tissue differentiation. In hairy roots cultured both on liquid and solid medium, it was ten times higher than in undifferentiated cultures. At the same time, the share of aglycone forms in the total content of flavones during the culture cycle depended on the growing conditions. It was significantly higher on agar medium than on liquid medium. A correlation between sGUS activity and total aglycone content, as well as wogonin content, was observed only in hairy roots grown in the liquid medium.