IN VITRO MULTIPLICATION AND GC/MS-BASED METABOLIC PROFILES OF CICHORIUM INTYBUS L.

Cichorium intybus L. (Asteraceae) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants globally. The plant species is of great economic interest due to its high content of secondary metabolites. The present study was performed to compare the GC/MS-based metabolic profiles and total phenolic content of micropropagated and wild-growing plants. An optimized protocol for in vitro multiplication of C. intybus using stem segments from in vitro raised seedlings was developed. The optimum nutrient media were found to be MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BAP and 0.1 mg/L NAA and MS medium fortified with 1 mg/L 4PU-30 and 0.1 mg/L NAA, giving an average of 9.2±0.47 and 7.1±0.41 shoots per explant, respectively. The phenylurea cytokinin 4PU-30, first used for chicory micropropagation, effectively promoted plant regeneration and prevented hyperhydricity in in vitro plant tissue. Microshoots rooted successfully in half-strength MS medium free of plant growth regulators. All plants were hardened and survived transfer to ex vitro conditions. No differences were found between the GC/MS-based metabolic profiles of the wild-growing plants and those multiplied in vitro and acclimated to controlled field conditions. A quantitative difference was obtained in some individual metabolites: esculetin and quinic acid were higher in samples of in vitro obtained plants, while chlorogenic acid was more abundant in samples of wild-growing plants.