Furoquinoline alkaloid accumulation in Fagara zanthoxyloides cell cultures is highly dependent on the presence of exogenous benzylaminopurine

Culturing a non-habituated cell line of Fagara zanthoxyloides Lam. (Rutaceae) in either auxin-free medium or cytokinin-free medium led to opposite effects on furoquinoline accumulation. It appeared that production of skimmianine and γ-fagarine in the cells was strongly correlated with the presence of exogenous BAP: the levels of both alkaloids were 9 times lower when cells were cultured without cytokinin than in the control culture. NAA removal induced a slight stimulation of skimmianine and γ-fagarine accumulations, 1.2 and 1.9 times respectively. Culturing the cells in a PGR-free medium generated skimmianine and γ-fagarine levels that were 3.5 and 2.1 times lower, respectively, confirming the opposite effects of BAP and NAA on furoquinoline accumulation. Growth was only slightly inhibited when cells were cultured for one passage in the PGR-modified media.