This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of different plant growth
regulators (PGRs) on callus induction in Salvia tebesana explants grown in
vitro and to evaluate the content of secondary phenolic compounds and their
antioxidant potential. The explants (shoot apical meristem, leaf and
petiole) were dissected from an 8-week-old plant of S. tebesana growing in
vitro and cultured on MS media containing different concentrations of 2,4-D
(0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mg L-1), NAA (0, 0.5 and 1 mg L-1) and BAP (0, 0.5 and
1 mg L-1), either alone or in a blend with each other. Morphological
characteristics of the callus (consistency and colour), biomass increase
based on fresh and dry weight and the percentage of induction were recorded
after 56 days. Levels of total phenols, ortho-diphenols, phenolic acids,
flavonoids, proanthocyanidins and flavonols of callus, as well as
antioxidant activities, were evaluated in vitro. The maximum callus
formation (100%) was obtained from shoot apical meristem on MS medium
supplemented with 0.5 and 1.5 mg L-1 2,4-D + 1 mg L-1 BAP and with 1 and 1.5
mg L-1 2,4-D + 0.5 mg L-1 BAP, whereas the highest fresh (15.06 ? 0.88 g)
and dry (0.33 ? 0.02 g) weights of call were observed in a medium
containing1.5 mg L-1 2,4-D + 0.5 mg L-1 NAA. It was noted that MS media
augmented with combined PGRs had the highest accumulation of polyphenols,
phenolic acids and flavonoid compounds, with levels of content varying in
the following order: 2,4-D + BAP > NAA + BAP > 2,4-D + NAA. Strong linear
correlations were established between total phenolic content of callus
extracts and results of the DPPH and FRAP assays (r2 = 0.896 and r2 = 0.946,
p < 0.01, respectively). The obtained results suggest that the described
method could be utilised as a tool for large-scale production of medicinal
metabolites of S. tebesana by tissue culture.