Abstract
Background: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of germanium treatment on the growth and organic germanium production in the roots of Oplopanax elatus plantlets. Methods and Results: O. elatus plantlets were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with different concentrations of germanium dioxide (GeO₂) to analyze optimum growth conditions. Exogenous treatment of 10 ㎎/ℓ GeO₂ promoted growth and an increase in the contents of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid in O. elatus. The germanium accumulation and production in roots of O. elatus plantlets treated with organic germanium reached the highest levels. The growth of the aerial and underground portion of O. elatus with organic germanium was greater than that of the control. The accumulation and production of organic germanium reached the highest level (40.89 ㎍/plantlet) with the treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO₂. Antioxidant activity measured by DPPH and ABTS assays also increased with the germanium treatment and improved the DPPH and ABTS radical activity by 200% compared with that in the control. In addition, the total phenol and flavonoid contents of the plantlets with a treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO₂ were higher than in the control. Conclusions: Taken together, the growth of O. elatus was increased with the treatment of 50 ㎎/ℓ GeO₂ germanium and the biological references improved, with increased antioxidant activity and organic germanium production.
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