Rosmarinic acid content in basil plants grown in vitro and in hydroponics

The accumulation of selected caffeic acid derivatives (CADs), in particular rosmarinic acid (RA), was investigated in different tissues (leaves, roots and plantlet shoots) of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) plants grown either in vitro or in hydroponic culture (floating system) under greenhouse conditions. Two cultivars with green leaves (Genovese and Superbo) and one with purple leaves (Dark Opal) were tested. The content of CADs in HCl-methanol extracts was determined by HPLC. LC-MS and LC-MS-MS were used to confirm the identification of the metabolites of interest. Apart from rosmarinic acid (RA) and a methylated form of this substance, no other CADs were detected at significant level in any of the analyzed samples. The content of RA ranged approximately from 4 to 63 mg/g DW, depending on the growing system. The highest RA content was found during the in vitro multiplication, in the acclimatized plants and in the roots of hydroponically-grown seedlings at full bloom. In vitro, 6-benzyladenine reduced the accumulation of RA in purple-leaf Dark Opal cultivar, but an opposite effect of this growth regulator was observed in the green-leaf genotypes. Our findings suggest the possibility to scale-up RA production by means of in vitro or hydroponic culture of sweet basil.