Resumo

MATOS ACURERO, Ángela. Aloin production in calli and leaves of in vitro regenerated shoots of aloe (Aloe vera L.). Bioagro [online]. 2011, vol.23, n.2, pp.79-86. ISSN 1316-3361.

Aloe vera L. is currently an important commercial and medicinal plant because it produces secondary metabolites, such as aloin, which is used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In this research, we quantified the production of this compound in calluses and leaves of in vitro regenerated shoots, cultured for 3, 6 and 12 months, compared with the content in controls and wild plants. The Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with different hormone levels was used. The age of the cultures was an important factor for aloin production in the studied material (leaves of in vitro regenerated shoots). The aloin production was variable, being higher in basal callus grown on medium containing 2,4-D (0.5 mg·L^-1) and kinetin (0.1 mg·L^-1), and higher than the production observed in control media and wild plant leaves. The aloin content in leaves of in vitro regenerated shoots cultured in MS supplemented with 2,4-D (0.5 mg.L^-1) and kinetin (5 mg·L^-1) was lower than that in the callus but slightly higher than in wild plants. These results show that callus cultures represent a promising source for secondary metabolites production in A. vera.

Palavras-chave : Secondary metabolites; explant type; culture age.