Metal Nanoparticles as Novel Elicitors: Enhancing Tropane Alkaloid Production in Brugmansia candida

DI MARTINO, THOMAS; BYRNE, AGUSTÍN; LÁZARO MARTÍNEZ, JUAN MANUEL; HAMER, MARIANA; PERASSOLO, MARÍA; RODRIGUEZ TALOU, JULIAN; CARDILLO, ALEJANDRA BEATRIZ

Congreso; Solanaceae and Rubiaceae Genetics and Genomics International Conference 2025 (SOLRUB 2025); 2025

University of Turin

Hairy root (HR) in vitro cultures offer an attractive platform for producing pharmacologically valuable secondary metabolites. Elicitation, the exposure to biotic or abiotic elements, is a promising strategy to enhance yields. This study investigated the elicitor effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the production of tropane alkaloids (TAs) – scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and anisodamine – in Brugmansia candida HR cultures.Treatment with 50 ppm ZnO NPs for 4 days induced a highly significant (p