Enhanced bacoside production in shoot cultures of Bacopa monnieri under the influence of abiotic elicitors

The effect of different abiotic elicitors [jasmonic acid, copper sulphate (CuSO₄) and salicyclic acid] at varying concentrations on the stimulation of biomass and bacoside production in in vitro Bacopa monnieri shoot culture was studied. A systematic study conducted over a period of 35 days indicated that the maximum bacoside production (6.74 mg g^− 1 dry weight (DW)) was obtained after a lag of 7 days and thereafter, the content decreased gradually to again increase at 28 days (5.91 mg g^− 1 DW). Therefore, elicitation experiments were carried out over a period of 3, 6 and 9 days. The shoot cultures treated with 45 mg L^− 1 of CuSO₄ exhibited the highest bacoside content of 8.73 mg g^− 1 DW (∼1.42-fold higher) than in control cultures (6.14 mg g^− 1 DW). This study indicates the effectiveness of abiotic elicitation on bacoside production in in vitro shoot cultures of this medicinally important herb known for its memory-enhancing properties.