Effects of Yeast Polysaccharide on Growth and Flavonoid Accumulation in Fagopyrum tataricum Sprout Cultures.docVIP

Molecules 2012, 17, 11335-11345; doi:10.3390/molecules171011335 OPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 /journal/molecules Article Effects of Yeast Polysaccharide on Growth and Flavonoid Accumulation in Fagopyrum tataricum Sprout Cultures Gang Zhao, Jianglin Zhao *, Lianxin Peng, Liang Zou, Jingbo Wang, Lingyun Zhong and Dabing Xiang College of Biological Industry, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: jlzhao@; Tel.: +86-028-8461-6653. Received: 27 August 2012; in revised form: 10 September 2012 / Accepted: 17 September 2012 / Published: 25 September 2012 Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of yeast polysaccharide (YPS) on growth and flavonoid accumulation in sprout cultures of Fagopyrum tataricum (tartary buckwheat). Without obvious change in the appearance of the sprouts, the exogenous YPS notably stimulated the production of functional metabolites in F. tataricum sprouts, and the stimulation effect was concentration-dependent. With 400 mg/L of YPS applied to the sprout cultures on day 6, the total rutin and quercentin content was effectively increased to 42.8 mg/gdw, or about 1.4-fold in comparison with the control of 31.2 mg/gdw. Feeding with 800 mg/L of YPS on day 9, the sprouts biomass was increased by about 8% compared to the control culture (0.99 gdw/100 sprouts versus 0.92 gdw/100 sprouts). Moreover, the present study revealed that the accumulation of these bioactive metabolites resulted from the stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway by YPS treatment. It could be an effective strategy for improving the functional quality of the F. tataricum sprouts provided with YPS. Keywords: buckwheat sprouts; flavonoids; Fagopyrum tataricum; yeast polysaccharide (YPS); elicitation 1. Introduction Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn) (Polygonaceae),