Hairy roots induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes are distinguished by their high growth rate, genetic stability, and lateral branching. Datura metel is an important medicinal plant whose hairy roots are used for the production of atropine, a tropane alkaloid applied as an anticholinergic and parasympathetic agent. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2015) 39: 111-118 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Improvement of atropine production by different biotic and abiotic elicitors in hairy root cultures of Datura metel 1 1, 2 2,3 Zahra SHAKERAN , Mehrnaz KEYHANFAR *, Gholamreza ASGHARI , Mustafa GHANADIAN Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technologies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran 2 Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 3 Isfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 1 Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Hairy roots induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes are distinguished by their high growth rate, genetic stability, and lateral branching. Datura metel is an important medicinal plant whose hairy roots are used for the production of atropine, a tropane alkaloid applied as an anticholinergic and parasympathetic agent. To increase the yield of atropine, biotic (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and abiotic (AgNO3 and nanosilver) elicitors were added to the hairy root cultures of D. metel and then analyzed through highperformance liquid chromatography. All the elicitors influenced biomass accumulation and atropine production. Among the tested elicitors, nanosilver was most effective in enhancing the hairy roots’ atropine content. To the authors’ knowledge, the application of nanosilver for increasing tropane alkaloid production is reported for the first time here and could improve the atropine production of pharmaceutical industries. Key words: Hairy root, atropine, Datura metel, AgNO3, nanosilver, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus 1. Introduction Plant-derived drugs are important sources of various pharmaceuticals (Kim et al., 2002). Tropane alkaloids
