Abstract

Derris scandens (DS) callus culture is a sustainable and scalable process that is a potential alternative for harvesting the stems of plants from natural habitats. Callus culture allows the quality of DS materials to be controlled. In this study, we aimed to assess the accumulation of secondary metabolites in DS callus cultures using LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS and HPLC–UV. Furthermore, anti-inflammatory activities of these components were evaluated in RAW 264.7 cells. Tentative identification using LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS revealed prenylated isoflavone compounds in DS callus. HPLC–UV was used to detect genistein and lupiwighteone. The repeatability and reproducibility of the method were acceptable (≤ 1.62 and ≤ 2.68% relative standard deviations, respectively). The accuracy ranged from 93.7 to 108.5%. The sensitivity exhibited limit of detection (0.08 and 0.01 µg mL⁻¹) and limit of quantification (0.26 and 0.14 µg mL⁻¹). The contents of genistein and lupiwighteone core structure compounds in callus cultures were 45.8 ± 0.4 µg g⁻¹ and 1.04 ± 0.01 mg g⁻¹ dry weight, respectively. Compared with untreated control cells, cells treated with DS callus extract (2000 µg mL⁻¹) exhibited significant inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production (75.77%) and suppression of the expression of inducible NO synthase (0.05-fold), cyclooxygenase-2 (2.65-fold), interleukin-6 (9.00-fold), and 5-lipoxygenase (0.53-fold) genes. DS calli may be a viable alternative to intact plants owing to their anti-inflammatory properties. However, the chemical fingerprints of callus differed from those of intact plants. Further research is necessary to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway of DS and control production of secondary metabolites.