Effects of Exogenous Polyamines on Tropane Alkaloid Production by a Root Culture of Duboisia myoporoides.

The addition of putrescine, a precursor of tropane alkaloids, to the culture medium increased scopolamine production of DUBOISIA MYOPOROIDES R. Br. (Solanaceae) roots (RB-1), whereas, other precursors (ornithine, arginine, and tropine) increased the content of scopolamine only slightly or not at all. Spermidine, a natural polyamine and a direct metabolite of putrescine, increased the scopolamine content of the cultured roots to the same degree as putrescine increased it. High scopolamine root contents were obtained in media supplemented with 3 mM putrescine (0.96%) and 3 mM spermidine (0.94%), whereas spermine decreased scopolamine production. The putrescine analogues diaminomethane, diaminoethane, diaminopropane, and cadaverine also increased the scopolamine content of the DUBOISIA root culture from 0.56% to the respective values of 0.86%, 0.90%, 1.06%, and 1.04%. Other diamines with long alkyl chains and agmatine did not increase scopolamine production.