GC-MS analysis of important bioactive compounds in bulbs and callus of in vitro produced Urginea maritima.

Abstract Medicinal herbs are the main source of bioactive compounds used in the medicine industry. Urginea maritima is an important medicinal and ornamental plant cultivated in the Mediterranean region. This study reports an efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of Urginea and investigates the most important bioactive compounds present in the bulbs and in vitro-produced callus. The least number of days for callus induction and shoot regeneration was achieved in Murashige and Skoog MS basal media supplemented with (1 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid NAA + 0.1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine, BAP) and (1 mg/L NAA + 0.4 mg/L BAP), respectively, while the highest number of shoots and fresh weight were obtained in media supplemented with 1 mg/L NAA + 0.5 mg/L BAP. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry GC–MS analysis of Urgenia bulbs methanol extract showed the existence of important bioactive compounds such as palmitic acid (C16H32O2), 9-hexadecenoic acid (C16H30O2), phthalic acid 2-ethylhexyl propyl ester (C19H28O4), tetradecanoic acid (C14H28O2), undecanoic acid (C11H22O2), and oleic acid (C18H34O2), in addition to other important compounds such as 13-heptadecyn-1-ol, 9,12- octadecadienoic acid, 1-monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether, 2-methyl-1-hexadecanol and octadecanoic acid. These compounds possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, antifungal, antiasthma, and antimicrobial properties. Callus methanol extracts showed a reduction in the percentages of most phyto-components compared to bulb extract except for oleic acid, 3-(octadecyloxy) propyl ester and 3-hydroxydodecanoic acid; on the other hand, some compounds were detected only in callus extract possessing anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects, such as farnesol (C15H26O), 7-methyl-Z-tetradecen-1-ol acetate (C17H32O2), ethyl iso-allocholate (C26H44O5), 4-trifluoroacetoxypentadecane (C17H31F3O2) and 2-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid (C16H32O3).