Asiaticoside Production from Centella (Centella asiatica L. Urban) Cell Culture

Petiole explants of centella plants (Centella asiatica L Urban) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) scud medium containing 20 g/L sucrose, supplemented with 1 0 mg/L benzylaminopurine and 1 0 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid for callus production To establish a cell suspension culture, 2 g of fresh callus was cultured in 50 mL. of the same medium but without solid agent at a 100 rpm agitation speed Every 2 g of culture was sub-cultured in fresh MS liquid medium for maintenance After 24 days of culture at a 120 rpm agitation speed, the centella cell biomass reached a maximum of 9 03 g/50 mL on the same MS medium with 30 g/L sucrose and a 3 g inoculum size A high performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that asiaticoside content in 24-day old suspension cultured cells (45 35 mg/g dry weight) was significantly higher (4 5 fold) than that of in planta leaves (10 55 mg/g dry weight)