Enhanced production of isoflavones by elicitation in hairy root cultures of Soybean

A combined treatment of sonication (2 min) and vacuum infiltration (2 min) stimulated isoflavones production of 75.26 mg g−1 DW which was 15.11-fold higher than control hairy root line at optimal harvest time of 40 days. Addition of MeJ at 100 μM concentration with 72 h exposure time on 30 day-old hairy root culture further enhanced total isoflavones production of 53.16 mg g−1 DW (10.67-fold) and SA at 200 μM concentration with 96 h exposure period enhanced the production of isoflavones (28.79 mg g−1 DW; 5.78-fold). MeJ-treated hairy roots reduced biomass accumulation whereas sonication, vacuum infiltration and SA did not exhibit a negative effect on biomass growth.