Biotechnology Letters, Vol.23, No.17, 1397-1400, 2001
Induction of umbelliferone in sweet potato cell suspension culture using mercuric chloride
HgCl2 was used at up to 10 mg l(-1) as an elicitor of phytoalexins in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. cv Centennial) cell suspension cultures. Maximum stimulation of a coumarin compound was after one day of exposure using 1 mg HgCl2 l(-1). The compound was identified by HPLC and GC-MS analyses as 7-hydroxycoumarin (umbelliferone).