Chemical comparison of the chitin-induced (Elicited) flavonoid pathway in cell cultures of old man cactus (Cephalocereus semilis) and in bunny ears cactus (POpuntia microdasys) by ESI-MS

The cell lines of Old Man Cactus and Bunny Ear Cactus have been developed by previous researchers and are well maintained in our lab. Some unusual flavonoids were extracted and determined from elicited Old Man Cactus cell cultures. My experiment was designed to determine if the “unusual elicited pathway” to an array of 4’- deoxyflavonoids as well as a red pigment occurred in elicited Bunny Ear Cactus cell cultures. We used a new analysis technique, ESI-MS, to Detect the 4’-Deoxyflavonoids in Elicited Cell Cultures of Bunny Ear Cactus and Compare the Finding with the 4!- Deoxyflavonoids Produced in Elicited Old Man Cactus Cell Cultures based on their molecular weights. The chromatograms showed some flavonoids present in both elicited cactus cell cultures and some unique ones in each cell cultures, and cephalocerone was very little in elicited Bunny Ear Cactus cell cultures.