Production of an important antidiabetic compound mangiferin through elicitation in Salacia chinensis under in vivo condition

Salacia chinensis L. (Celastraceae) is an important antidiabetic and anticancer plant. Mangiferin is a principal bioactive component of this plant and is well known for important antidiabetic and anticancer properties. The objectives of the present study were to examine the accumulation of mangiferin in S. chinensis grown under in vivo conditions, upon application of abiotic (NaCl and salicylic acid) and biotic elicitors (mycorrhiza, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungal endophytes (Cladosporium tenuissimum and Trichoderma atroviride). The present study shows that bioactive metabolite accumulation was recorded in all tested plant parts. Significantly, mangiferin content was more elevated in treated plant parts as compared to non-treated ones. NaCl treated plant had higher production of mangiferin than other treatments. Mangiferin content was higher at 50 mM NaCl (368.8 ±5.6 µg/g DW), which is 2.08 times higher than the control (160.05± 2.5 µg/g DW). Upon foliar spray of salicylic acid (100 µM), root mangiferin content (263.80±5.14 µg/g DW) was 1.04 times higher than the control. Among the biotic elicitors, plants treated with P. aeruginosa produced more mangiferin than mycorrhiza-treated ones in tested plant parts. Overall, the root (368.8 5.6 µg/g DW) produced a higher quantity of mangiferin than the stem (297.91±4.05 µg/g DW) and leaves (168.36±5.25 µg/g DW) in S. chinensis. This is the first report on the exogenous application of endophytes in vivo to elicit mangiferin in different parts of S. chinensis. The current investigation revealed that isolated fungal endophytes can be used to produce industrially important bioactive metabolites at a large scale.