Determination of isoflavone content and antioxidant activity in Psoralea corylifolia L. callus cultures

Relation between isoflavones production and antioxidant activity in Psoralea corylifolia cell cultures was studied. High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that root-derived callus cultures produced maximum amount of daidzein whereas genistein by leaf-derived callus. Cell cultures grown under continuous illumination (40-μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) produced several-fold more isoflavones daidzein (2.28% dry wt) and genistein (0.21% dry wt) than that of field grown plants. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, phosphomolybdenum assay and correlated with the content of total phenolics in the extracts. Calli grown under continuous illumination exhibited strong antioxidant activities compared to dark grown callus cultures and explants materials.