Marked effect of Cuscuta on puerarin accumulation in cell cultures of Pueraria tuberosa grown in shake flasks and a bioreactor

Isoflavonoid production in cell cultures of Pueraria tuberosa as influenced by an angiospermic parasite, Cuscuta reflexa, was studied. During the time course, maximum isoflavonoid content was recorded when Cuscuta elicitor was added on day 15 of culture. Among various concentrations of elicitor tried, $1g\;l^{-1}$ of Cuscuta elicitor was found to be the most effective. The optimized elicitation conditions were used in vessels of varying capacity where maximum yield of ${\sim}91mg\;l^{-1}$ of isoflavonoid was recorded in a 2-l bioreactor which was about 19% higher than the control cultures. In this case, puerarin content increased up to $11mg\;l^{-1}$ which was 580% higher that the value recorded in the control cultures. In the bioreactor, 8 days of elicitation was optimal for the high accumulation of isoflavonoid, giving productivity of ${\sim}4mg\;l^{-1}\;day^{-1}$. The study showed persistent high isoflavonoid yield even during scale-up. Use of a preparation of Cuscuta reflexa as an elicitor is reported for the first time. The increase in isoflavonoid content was elicitor dose-dependent and can be explored to trigger high yields of isoflavonoid/secondary metabolites in production.