Effect of salicylic acid and ziziphus jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract on the production and release of yellow pigments by safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) root culture

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) belong to the Asteraceae family. It contains flavonoids such as contains kinocalcone pigments and these compounds shown to exhibit medicinal properties. These pigments are abundantly found in flower of this plant, but it has been seen that the roots of this plant have been able to produce these pigments in vitro. One of the ways to increase the production of secondary metabolites in tissue culture is to use different elicitors. In this study, jujube fruit extract and salicylic acid were used as an elicitor. Grown roots were first cultured in liquid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for mass production, in static condition. The roots were then sub-cultured with jujube fruit extract (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1%) and salicylic acid (0, 500 μm). After 20 days of culture the growth was determined and the yellow pigments of root and medium were measured by spectrophotometer and the results showed that jujube fruit extract have protected root tissues against lipid peroxidation and this fact have triggered their growth. In this condition there was an increase in yellow pigments but these pigments were not released in the culture medium. Conversely, the SA treatment that further increases the production of pigments affected the integrity of cell membranes which lead to a fall of growth and a release of pigments in the culture medium.