Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: The phytochemical analysis of Stachys alopecuros subsp. divulsa, an endemic Italian species, has been recently reported and has showed the presence of 8-O-acetylharpagide (2), harpagide (3), allobetonicoside (4), and 4?-O-galactopyranosyl-teuhircoside (5). In this paper, an in deep study of its glycosidic fraction with the aim to widen the knowledge on its secondary metabolites content is reported.

In this work an effective method to start axenic cultures of Verbascum thapsus L. was developed. This allowed to obtain a high percentage of callus generation from leaf explants (around 70%) and to start the cultivation of suspension cultured cells rapidly growing in liquid culture medium. Moreover, the production in these materials of the phenylethanoid glycoside compound verbascoside was verified and quantified ascertaining that both calli and cultured cells maintain the ability to accumulate it at levels similar or superior to those found in plant leaves.