Evaluation of Physiochemical Elicitors on Production of Saponins and Alkaloids From Cestrum Diurnum Callus, and Assessment Of The Potential in Vivo Wound Healing Activity of Leaf Extract.

Alrabayah, Ibrahim N.; Elhawary, Seham S.; Kandil, Zeinab A.; Abd El-Kadder, Essam M.; Moemen, Yasmine S.; Saleh, Abdulrahman M.; Abd Elhamied, Nebal S.; El Raey, Mohamed A.

doi:10.21608/hrj.2025.432788

Evaluation of Physiochemical Elicitors on Production of Saponins and Alkaloids From Cestrum Diurnum Callus, and Assessment Of The Potential in Vivo Wound Healing Activity of Leaf Extract.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Giza , Egypt

² Trees Research Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza , Egypt

³ Clinical Pathology Department, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt

⁴ Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys),Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

⁵ Phytochemistry and Plant Systematics, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo , Egypt

10.21608/hrj.2025.432788

Abstract

Cestrum diurnum L. is a plant of significant medicinal interest, but traditional cultivation methods are time-consuming and uncontrolled. Callus culture offers a more efficient and reliable alternative for consistent secondary metabolite production. Among 19 combinations of plant growth regulators, MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.25 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) yielded the highest callus formation. The impact of abiotic elicitors (UV radiation and polyethylene glycol) on callus growth and secondary metabolite production were studied. Results showed that addition of 50 mg/L tryptophan + UV and 25 mg/L tryptophan + UV resulted in the best biomass production, with fresh weights of 3.75±0.35 and 3.20±0.29 g/jar and dry weights of 0.452±0.01 and 0.407±0.04 g/jar, respectively. The highest saponin content was observed with 100 mg/L cholesterol, while alkaloid content increased with 50 mg/L tryptophan and 1 g/L PEG. Chronic wounds, burns, and infections remain major clinical challenges. Therefore, it was necessary to consider an alternative or adjuvant medicine that has low side effects and is safe at the same time as a natural source of medicinal plants. Leaves of C. diurnum were extracted using n-hexane and 70% ethanol, and both extracts were formulated into gels for testing. The n-hexane-200 group showed the highest healing rate, although differences among treated groups were not statistically significant. This study highlights the dual potential of C. diurnum in biotechnological metabolite production and therapeutic wound care.

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