A procedure for the determination of optimal chitosan concentrations for elicitation of cultured plant cells

An experimental method for determination of the optimum chitosan concentration for elicitation of plant cell suspension cultures is presented. The procedure, which is based on measurements of the conductivity of the culture medium after addition of chitosan, has been applied to suspension cultures of Nicotiana tabacum and Eschscholtzia californica. Increased conductivity of the medium (due to permeabilization of the cells) results in decreased secondary product formation and cell growth. Maximum product formation is observed for cells elicited with the highest chitosan concentration which does not affect membrane permeability.