Phytosteroids from tissue culture of Allium cepa L. and Trachyspermum ammi S prague.

Production of secondary metabolites by cultured cells provides a particularly important benefit to manipulate and improve the production of desired compounds; thus biotechnological approaches to increase the concentrations of the metabolites are discussed. Present study deals with the production, isolation and identification of phytosterols from tissue culture of Allium cepa and from plant parts and tissue culture of Trachyspermum ammi. Steroidal analysis of plant parts showed the maximum amount of stigmasterol (0.240 mg/gdw) which was comparatively little less than that of the amount of β- sitosterol (0.295 mg/gdw) in the seeds of T. ammi . The maximum amount of stigmasterol was present in four weeks old tissue of T. ammi (0.249 mg/gdw) whereas the highest content of β- sitosterol was observed in six weeks old tissue of A. cepa (0.315 mg/gdw) However, lanosterol, was present only in the tissue of A. cepa which was maximum in six weeks old tissue (0.039 mg/gdw).