Determination of volatile glucosinolate degradation products in seed coat, stem and in vitro cultures of Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori

Moringaceae, a monogeneric family in Capparales (glucosinolate-containing species), includes 14 species. One of them is Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori., a small tree, which grows in south east of Iran. Volatile constituents of seed coat and stem of M. peregrina were determined by GC and GC/MS. Moreover, extracts of seed and different cultured cells were analyzed by TLC and GC. Three volatile isothiocyanates including isopropyl isothiocyanate (4.2%), sec-butyl isothiocyanate (< 0.1%) and isobutyl isothiocyanate (92.9%) were found in the volatile oil of the stem, while only two volatile isothiocyanates namely isopropyl isothiocyanate (7.0%) and isobutyl isothiocyanate (51.5%) were determined in the seed coat of the tree. For the first time, the callus and suspension cultures of M. peregrina were initiated and established successfully on Murashige and Skoog medium, containing plant growth hormones. Different precursors and elicitors were fed to the cultures to induce glucosinolates production. This is the first report of in vitro culture production of M. peregrina. There was no production of volatile isothiocyanates in M. peregrina callus and suspension cultures with different treatments.