Diterpenoid tanshinones, major bioactive constituents of Salvia miltiorrhiza roots are drug candidates against cardiocerebral diseases. To develop sustainable and effective elicitation strategies for the enhanced production of tanshinones, the spherical shaped β-cyclodextrin-coated silver nanoparticles (AgNP-β-CDs, Ø35.3 ± 8.3 nm) were synthesized and applied as elicitor to hairy root cultures of S. miltiorrhiza. The content of total tanshinones including tanshinone I, IIA and cryptotanshinone in the cultures was stimulated by AgNP- β-CD at 30 mg/L. The elicitation effects of AgNP-β-CD on tanshinone were found to be related to the released dissolved Ag⁺ and nanoparticle bumping to the root surface in the cultures. AgNP-β-CD treatment induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) including H₂O₂ and O₂⁻ production in the hairy roots, leading to enhance activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and up-regulated expressions of key biosynthetic genes for tanshinones in hairy roots. The nano-elicitor increased total production of tanshinones in 18-day-old hairy root cultures to 10.8 mg/L, a 1.8-fold over that of the control. These results indicate that AgNP- β-CD could be a novel effective elicitor in hairy root cultures for the production of pharmaceutical secondary metabolites.

二萜类丹参酮是丹参根的主要生物活性成分，是抗心脑疾病的候选药物。为了开发可持续且有效的诱变策略以提高丹参酮的产量，合成了球形β-环糊精包被的银纳米颗粒（AgNP-β-CDs，Ø35.3±8.3 nm），并将其用作S毛状根培养物的诱导剂。。丹参。AgNP-β-CD以30 mg / L刺激培养物中总丹参酮的含量，包括丹参酮I，IIA和隐丹参酮。发现AgNP-β-CD对丹参酮的诱导作用与释放的溶解的Ag ^+有关和纳米颗粒撞击培养物中的根表面。AgNP-β-CD处理诱导反应性氧物质（ROS）含H的₂ ö ₂和O ₂ ^-生产在发根，从而导致提高超氧化物歧化酶（SOD），过氧化氢酶（CAT）和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APX），毛根中丹参酮关键生物合成基因的表达上调。纳米引发剂将18天大的毛状根培养物中丹参酮的总产量提高到10.8 mg / L，是对照的1.8倍。这些结果表明，AgNP-β-CD可能是毛状根培养物中用于产生药物次生代谢产物的新型有效引发剂。