Enhanced thebaine production in Papaver bracteatum cell suspension culture by combination of elicitation and precursor feeding

In this study, the effect of methyl jasmonate (MJ) and ultrasound (US), individually and in combination with L-tyrosine, on the stimulation of thebaine production in Papaver bracteatum cell suspension cultures was studied. The addition of L-tyrosine did not significantly affect the cell biomass, but significantly increased the thebaine yield of cells compared with the control. The synergistic effects of MJ and L-tyrosine in the combined treatment of 100 mu MMJ and 2mM L-tyrosine increased the thebaine yield of cells up to 84.62mgL(-1) at 6 days after treatment. Sonication of the cells for 20s caused a significant decrease in cell growth and biomass, whereas the thebaine yield increased up to 39.60mgL(-1) at 6 days after treatment. The combination of US (10s) and L-tyrosine feeding (2mM) significantly increased the production of thebaine in comparison to individual utilisation of 2mM L-tyrosine and US (10s).