Yeast extract increases biomass, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer of Cichorium intybus L. hairy roots

Cichorium intybus L. hairy roots (HRs), induced from chicory plants by Rhizobium rhizogenes, have demonstrated potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These chicory HRs exhibit bioactivities due to the presence of chemical compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids. In the present work, yeast extract (YE) was evaluated as a biostimulant for HRs. After 25 days of culturing HRs in a medium containing YE at two different concentrations, the sample cultivated with 50 mg/L of YE showed higher biomass accumulation than the one treated with 100 mg/L. Specifically, 50 mg/L of YE increased HR biomass approximately 2.5 times compared to the control. Additionally, YE enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase and peroxidase) by increasing phenolic and flavonoid contents. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using the nitric oxide (NO) inhibition test, revealing that YE-elicited HRs suppressed NO synthesis at a non-toxic concentration of 5 μg/mL. Furthermore, YE-elicited HRs inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cancer cells by approximately 20%. Overall, the present work demonstrated that YE effectively stimulated HR biomass growth while enhancing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities, providing a promising strategy for cultivating C. intybus L. hairy roots for therapeutic applications.