Studies on trigonelline from Moringa oleifera and its in vitro regulation by feeding precursor in cell cultures

Trigonelline (N-methylnicotinate) biosynthesized from nicotinate is one of the metabolically active pyridine alkaloid, widely distributed in plant kingdom. In the present study trigonelline has been isolated from various plant parts and callus cultures of Moringa oleifera Lam., Moringaceae, and was identified using TLC, GLC, GC-MS, which was comparable to that of the standard trigonelline. The trigonelline recovery was found to be maximum in the pods and minimum in flowers. In order to enhance the production of trigonelline in vitro grown cultures, different treatment doses of nicotinic acid (250, 500 and 750 mg L-1) were supplemented in the medium as precursor. Maximum increase (up to 1.10 fold) was observed in the treatment dose of 500 mg L-1 of nicotinic acid.