Quantification and comparison of major secondary metabolites and antioxidant efficacy in Gardenia jasminoides mother plant, callus and suspension culture: An exploratory study to enhance bioactive compounds.

Gardenia jasminoides suspension culture has gained recognition as a functional approach for bioactive component development in the pharmaceutical industries but exhibits limited biomass accumulation and secondary metabolite production. This study presents the first record of maximum biomass production and demonstrates the cumulative levels of phenols, flavonoids and terpenoids observed through the growth trajectory of G. jasminoides suspension culture. Successful callus induction was obtained from leaf explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium augmented with a standardized conjunction of 1 mg/L of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.5 mg/L kinetin (KT). The experimental outcomes revealed that on the 35^th day, the in vitro suspension culture exhibited the highest biomass accumulation which was 5.43 times greater than the initial inoculation level. The study quantified total phenols, flavonoids, and terpenoids present in leaf explants, callus cultures, and suspension cultures and determined antioxidant efficacy. Findings suggest that an optimized growth regulator in G. jasminoides suspension culture significantly increases biomass accumulation. Quantification of secondary metabolites offers a promising path for future enhancement of their yield through elicitation and holds the potential to achieve extensive yield of cost-effective bioactive components.