The production of secondary metabolites by plant cell cultures has been suggested as a feasible technology that attracted considerable industrial and academic interest in the past three decades. However, many secondary pathways are not well expressed in plant cell cultures. Optimization of culture medium, elicitation, genetic engineering and the supply of biosynthetic precursors are among the strategies adopted to increase secondary metabolite production in vitro. In this study, the effects of five potential biosynthetic precursors on the production of baicalin and baicalein in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgii suspension and callus cultures were measured. The results of this work show that flavonoid biosynthesis was most stimulated by the addition of sodium cinnamate in the concentration of 5 mg.l-1 and by cinnamic acid (1 mg.l-1). Feeding with L-phenylalanine, malonic acid and sodium malonate did not induce changes in the amounts of flavonoids, and the biomass production was not affected.

        Key words: Scutellaria – skullcap – precursor – sodium cinnamate – cinnamic acid – in vitro cultures