Production of the secondary metabolite catechin by in vitro cultures of Camellia sinensis L.

Background Catechin is one of the secondary metabolites in Camellia sinensis L. that is alternatively produced through in vitro cultures. The in vitro culture product is possibly improved by optimizing the culture medium with the addition of growth regulators and precursors. The purpose of this study was to confirm the success of the secondary catechin metabolite production through the in vitro culture of C. sinensis L in a relatively short time. Methods The secondary catechin metabolite product is obtained in about 40 days. The study was conducted by (1) leaf cutting for inoculation in Murashige and Skoog media with 1 μg/mL of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid growth regulator; (2) the inoculation of callus multiplication on the same medium as a partially modified inoculation media condition with the addition of 1 μg/mL of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 2 μg/mL of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid at concentration; (3) callus multiplication developed on a new medium containing phenylalanine precursors (300 μg/mL); (4) testing growth by harvesting the callus and weighing the wet weight of its biomass and (5) identification of the callus qualitatively and quantitatively by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results The level of secondary catechin metabolite produced was 2.54 μg/mL and 12.13 μg/mL in solid and suspension media, respectively. Conclusions It is concluded that the method is effective and efficient in producing catechin product from C. sinensis L.