Active compounds and biological activity of in vitro cultures of some Echinacea purpurea varieties

Background Plant cell cultures have developed rapidly in recent years for the synthesis of selected natural products. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of yeast extract, jasmonic acid, phenylalanine, and tyrosine on total caffeic acid and polysaccharide production in callus cultures of two Echinacea varieties, namely Double Decker and Rubinstern. The biological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities) of different Echinacea extracts were also evaluated.