Effects of auxins and different culture systems on the adventitious root development of Passiflora pohlii Mast. and their ability to produce antioxidant compounds

Passiflora pohlii Mast. is a wild species native to Brazil, with potential agronomic interest. Although there are few studies on this particular species, recent works described several biological activities in other species of the genus. The goal of this work was to establish adventitious roots cultures from stem and root segments excised from in vitro-grown plants of P. pohlii, as well as to perform phytochemical analyses and evaluate the antioxidant potential of extracts obtained from the in vitro materials, in comparison with in vivo-grown plants. The influence of different parameters (type of explant, culture systems, light, and type and concentrations of auxins) on the induction of adventitious roots was evaluated. Internodal segments showed the best rhizogenesis induction on solidified medium supplemented with 2.7 mu M NAA, whereas root segments showed the highest proliferation rate on liquid medium supplemented with 2.85 mu M IAA, both in the absence of light. TLC analysis indicated the presence of saponins in extracts from all in vivo and in vitro-derived materials. The antioxidant potential was determined by DPPH and TLC-DPPH assays. The highest antioxidant activities were observed in extracts from primary and secondary roots of in vivo-grown plants. The characterization of the phytochemical profile of the in vitro and in vivo materials, as well as their pharmacological potential are reported for the first time for this species.