Biotic Elicitor-Induced Enhancement of Bioactive Metabolite Production and Antioxidant Activity in Vitro Cultured Medicinal Plants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijnhs.v4i4.2Keywords:
Antioxidant Activity, Biotic Elisitors, Culture in Vitro, Bioactive Metabolites, Medicinal PlantsAbstract
Medicinal plants are a source of bioactive metabolites, but in vitro culture productivity is often low. This study aims to analyze the influence of the type, concentration, and duration of biotic elisters on the accumulation of metabolites and antioxidant activity. Systematic literature review followed PRISMA 2020 via Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect; 42 articles for the period 2021–2025 were analyzed descriptive-thematically. A total of 34 studies (81.0%) reported an increase in at least one metabolite, while 24 of 30 studies (80.0%) showed an increase in antioxidant activity. Fungal elicitors most often increase metabolites, while chitosan shows the highest proportion of antioxidant increases. The optimal response generally occurs at intermediate concentrations and 48 hours–7 days of exposure. Biotic elitheration has the potential to optimize phytochemical production, but it requires plant-specific, culture, dose, and time-specific standardization
References
Alcalde, M. A., Perez-Matas, E., Escrich, A., Cusido, R. M., Palazon, J., & Bonfill, M. (2022). Biotic elicitors in adventitious and hairy root cultures: A review from 2010 to 2022. Molecules, 27(16), Article 5253. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27165253
Amani, S., Mohebodini, M., Khademvatan, S., Jafari, M., & Kumar, V. (2024). Modifications in gene expression and phenolic compounds content by methyl jasmonate and fungal elicitors in Ficus carica cv. Siah hairy root cultures. BMC Plant Biology, 24, Article 520. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05178-2
Barker, T. H., Habibi, N., Aromataris, E., Stone, J. C., Leonardi-Bee, J., Sears, K., Hasanoff, S., Klugar, M., Tufanaru, C., Moola, S., & Munn, Z. (2024). The revised JBI critical appraisal tool for the assessment of risk of bias for quasi-experimental studies. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 22(3), 378–388. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-23-00268
Bavi, K., Khavari-Nejad, R. A., Najafi, F., & Ghanati, F. (2022). Phenolics and terpenoids change in response to yeast extract and chitosan elicitation in Zataria multiflora cell suspension culture. 3 Biotech, 12(8), Article 163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-022-03235-x
Bhaskar, R., Xavier, L. S. E., Udayakumaran, G., Kumar, D. S., Venkatesh, R., & Nagella, P. (2022). Biotic elicitors: A boon for the in-vitro production of plant secondary metabolites. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 149(1–2), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-021-02131-1
Cahyaningsih, R., Magos Brehm, J., & Maxted, N. (2021). Setting the priority medicinal plants for conservation in Indonesia. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 68(5), 2019–2050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-021-01115-6
Cumpston, M. S., Brennan, S. E., Ryan, R., & McKenzie, J. E. (2023). Synthesis methods other than meta-analysis were commonly used but seldom specified: Survey of systematic reviews. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 156, 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2023.02.003
Farjaminezhad, R., & Garoosi, G. (2021). Improvement and prediction of secondary metabolites production under yeast extract elicitation of Azadirachta indica cell suspension culture using response surface methodology. AMB Express, 11, Article 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-021-01203-x
Francisca, G. O., Arsiningtyas, I. S., & Mursyanti, E. (2025). Effect of addition Saccharomyces cerevisiae elicitor on total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of Gardenia jasminoides cell suspension culture. Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 35(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.29133/yyutbd.1474298
Guru, A., Dwivedi, P., Kaur, P., & Pandey, D. K. (2022). Exploring the role of elicitors in enhancing medicinal values of plants under in vitro condition. South African Journal of Botany, 149, 1029–1043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.10.014
Jain, D., Bisht, S., Parvez, A., Singh, K., Bhaskar, P., & Koubouris, G. (2024). Effective biotic elicitors for augmentation of secondary metabolite production in medicinal plants. Agriculture, 14(6), Article 796. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14060796
Jalota, K., Sharma, V., Agarwal, C., & Jindal, S. (2024). Eco-friendly approaches to phytochemical production: Elicitation and beyond. Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 14, Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13659-023-00419-7
Jan, R., Asaf, S., Numan, M., Lubna, & Kim, K.-M. (2021). Plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis and transcriptional regulation in response to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Agronomy, 11(5), Article 968. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11050968
Kanthaliya, B., Joshi, A., Arora, J., Alqahtani, M. D., & Abd Allah, E. F. (2023). Effect of biotic elicitors on the growth, antioxidant activity and metabolites accumulation in in vitro propagated shoots of Pueraria tuberosa. Plants, 12(6), Article 1300. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061300
Karalija, E., Macanović, A., & Ibragić, S. (2025). Revisiting traditional medicinal plants: Integrating multiomics, in vitro culture, and elicitation to unlock bioactive potential. Plants, 14(13), Article 2029. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14132029
Klimek-Szczykutowicz, M., Dziurka, M., Blažević, I., Đulović, A., Apola, A., Ekiert, H., & Szopa, A. (2022). Impacts of elicitors on metabolite production and on antioxidant potential and tyrosinase inhibition in watercress microshoot cultures. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 106, 619–633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11743-8
Mueangnak, K., Kitwetcharoen, H., Thanonkeo, S., Klanrit, P., Apiraksakorn, J., Klanrit, P., Klanrit, P., & Thanonkeo, P. (2025). Enhancing betalains production and antioxidant activity in Celosia argentea cell suspension cultures using biotic and abiotic elicitors. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 376. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83096-x
Ozyigit, I. I., Dogan, I., Hocaoglu-Ozyigit, A., Yalcin, B., Erdogan, A., Yalcin, I. E., Cabi, E., & Kaya, Y. (2023). Production of secondary metabolites using tissue culture-based biotechnological applications. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, Article 1132555. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1132555
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Rethlefsen, M. L., Kirtley, S., Waffenschmidt, S., Ayala, A. P., Moher, D., Page, M. J., Koffel, J. B., & PRISMA-S Group. (2021). PRISMA-S: An extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10(1), Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01542-z
Roy Chowdhury, M., Mehmet, M., Mukherjee, J., Debnath, A. J., & Ražná, K. (2025). Chitosan as an elicitor in plant tissue cultures: Methodological challenges. Molecules, 30(17), Article 3476. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173476
Silva-Santos, L., Palhares Neto, L., Corte-Real, N., Sperandio, M. V. L., Camara, C. A. G., Moraes, M. M., & Ulisses, C. (2023). Yeast extract and chitosan elicitation improves essential oil, regulates plant growth and antioxidative system in Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Brown (Verbenaceae). South African Journal of Botany, 163, 756–769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2023.10.024
Ullah, M. A., Gul, F. Z., Khan, T., Bajwa, M. N., Drouet, S., Tungmunnithum, D., Giglioli-Guivarc’h, N., Liu, C., Hano, C., & Abbasi, B. H. (2021). Differential induction of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals in agitated micro-shoot cultures of Ajuga integrifolia Buch. Ham. ex D.Don with biotic elicitors. AMB Express, 11, Article 137. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-021-01297-3
Valizadeh, A., Moassefi, M., Nakhostin-Ansari, A., Hosseini Asl, S. H., Saghab Torbati, M., Aghajani, R., Maleki Ghorbani, Z., & Faghani, S. (2022). Abstract screening using the automated tool Rayyan: Results of effectiveness in three diagnostic test accuracy systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 22, Article 160. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-022-01631-8
Wawrosch, C., & Zotchev, S. B. (2021). Production of bioactive plant secondary metabolites through in vitro technologies—status and outlook. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 105(18), 6649–6668. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11539-w
Xu, W., Jin, X., Yang, M., Xue, S., Luo, L., Cao, X., Zhang, C., Qiao, S., Zhang, C., Li, J., Wu, J., Lv, L., Zhao, F., Wang, N., Tan, S., Lyu-Bu, A. G. A., Wang, C., & Wang, X. (2021). Primary and secondary metabolites produced in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots by an endophytic fungal elicitor from Mucor fragilis. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 160, 404–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.01.023





