Effects of methyl-jasmonate on 9-methoxycanthin-6-one content in eurycoma longifolia (tongkat ali) root culture

Eurycoma longifolia is a flowering plant from the simaroubaceae family and it has been identified as one of the most intriguing medicinal plants in malaysia. in the present study,the production of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one,an alkaloid compound was determined with various methyl-jasmonate (meja) concentrations using root culture via liquid system. quantification of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one was confirmed by using thin layer chromatography (tlc) and high performance liquid chromatography (hplc). quantitative analysis using hplc displayed highest concentration of 9-methoxycanthin-6one content in the absence of meja treatment (control) followed by increasing concentrations of meja (1,10 and 100 µm). microanatomical analysis using scanning electron microscope (sem) has shown that root hair morphology of e.longifolia does not change significantly,whereas roots hair displayed rough surfaces with increases meja concentrations. therefore,meja is not a suitable elicitor to increase 9-methoxycanthin-6-one compound in e. longifolia’s root culture. © 2015,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.