Enhanced production of pharmaceutically important metabolites using nanoelicitors treatment in callus cultures of Tagetes erecta L. variety sweet orange.

Tagetes erecta L. (Asteraceae), commonly known as marigold, is an annual herb that possesses a variety of pharmaceutically important compounds. This study evaluates the effects of nanomaterials on the production of pharmaceutically important metabolites in T. erecta callus cultures. The results indicated that all three metabolites were simultaneously quantified using high-pressure thin layer chromatography. The highest quercetin yield (100.180 ± 0.48 mg g-1 DW) (1.92-fold higher than the control) was obtained after treatment with 16 mg L-1 zinc oxide nanoparticles. Caffeic acid was detected only in callus cultures treated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and at certain concentrations of its bulk counterpart. The maximum yield of caffeic acid (35.567 ± 1.49 µg g-1 DW) (35.56-fold higher than the control) was recorded at 4 mg L-1 MWCNTs. Similarly, the highest yield of stigmasterol (112.197 ± 0.86 µg g-1 DW) (5.60-fold increase than the control) was obtained at 16 mg L-1 MWCNTs.