IN VITRO PRODUCTION OF SECONDARY METABOLITES BY CAPPARIS SPINOSA CALLUS CULTURE

Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a well-recognized medicinal plant in the Mediterranean region which holds significant interest due to its medicinal, pharmacological, and culinary properties. Up to now, numerous bioactive phytochemical compounds have been isolated and identified from different parts of this plant (aerial part, roots, seeds), making it a valuable source of molecules for the pharmaceutical industry (Sun et ., 2023). Plant metabolites are also increasingly used for agronomic purposes as they can display interesting properties, and notably insecticidal and herbicidal activities. However, the extensive use of these metabolites has prompted the need to enhance their production. The utilization of biotechnological tools and notably of in vitro production systems presents economic and environmental benefits for the sustainable production of these metabolites (Mohaddab et al., 2022). Specifically, callus culture emerges as a prevalent technique for the generation of biologically active compounds derived from medicinal plants (Li et al., 2022).
While the production of volatile and non-volatile C. spinosa phytochemical compounds by callus culture has not been explored yet, it could avoid the complete harvesting of plant material and has a high potential for ensuring the sustainable production of these secondary metabolites. In this context, the objective of this study was to induce callus using C. spinosa leaf explants and a matrix containing two cytokinins (kinetin ”KIN” and 6-benzylaminopurine ”BAP”) along with two auxins (1-naphthaleneacetic acid “NAA” and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid ”2,4-D”). We therefore conducted a comprehensive phytochemical investigation and established correlations between different hormonal concentrations applied in the culture media and the volatile and non-volatile components produced by the callus.