INFLUENCE OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI (AMF) IN THE PRODUCTION OF SECONDARY METABOLITES OF BITUMINARIA BITUMINOSA L.

Many plants contain different phytochemicals playing a key role in promoting human health, by reducing oxidative damages and showing chemopreventive actions. Recent findings revealed that the content and composition of phytochemicals may be affected by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which are beneficial symbionts associated with the roots of most plant species. AMF promote plant growth and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, reducing the need of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They also affect the production secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoids, phytoestrogens, and the activity of several antioxidant enzymes, both in crop and medicinal plants. Bituminaria bituminosa L. (alias Psoralea bituminosa L., Leguminosae), is a perennial legume species from Mediterranean region, it is used to provide hay or forage for livestock due to its N2-fixation and drought tolerance making it suitable for lowinput, sustainable production systems. B. bituminosa is a source of several phenylpropanoids like flavonoids, isoflavones (daizein and genistein), but also a furanocoumarins (psoralen and angelicin) and pterocarpans (erybraedin C and bitucarpin), of pharmaceutical interest. In this work we inoculated at early stage of development young plants of Bituminaria bituminosa L. with AMF (Glomus intraradices or natural endophytes) and monitored their growth during vegetative and reproductive stages. Several primary and secondary metabolites were examined in order to determine the effect of AMF on the production of beneficial phytochemicals. Different levels of furanocumarins were detected at the vegetative and reproductive stages, while flavonoids and carotenoids were not influenced by AMF inoculation at both stages.