title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and vermicompost to maximize the production of foliar biomolecules in Passiflora alata Curtis seedlings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil organisms that associate with plant roots and promote plant growth, increasing the concentration of secondary metabolites, which are molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Passiflora alata is a Brazilian medicinal plant that is used as a raw material for anxiolytic phytotherapeutic agents. The anxiolytic properties are related to the presence of biomolecules in the plant material, principally flavonoids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of inoculation with AMF and organic fertilization on the production of soluble carbohydrates and total foliar proteins, phenols and flavonoids in P. alata seedlings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an effect of the tested treatments on the analyzed variables. Seedlings inoculated and cultivated in soil to which 0.15 kg vermicompost kg(-1) had been added showed increased growth and production of primary and secondary metabolites compared with treatments with lower levels of manure, which did not differ from those cultivated in soil with 0.2 kg vermicompost kg(-1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inoculation of P. alata seedlings with Gigaspora albida is an alternative to maximize the production of pharmacologically important foliar biomolecules, especially flavonoids, with benefits that vary in accordance with the fertility of the soil.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Enzimologia e Fitoquímica Aplicada à Micologia (LEFAM), Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Petrolina, BR 203, Km 2, 56328900, Petrolina, PE, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular Aplicada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade de Pernambuco, Rua Arnóbio Marques 310, Santo Amaro, 50100130, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Melquisedec S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Maryluce A S
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Fábio S B
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D005306:Fertilization; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D055137:Glomeromycota; D006801:Humans; D008372:Manure; D038821:Mycorrhizae; D029598:Passiflora / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D010636:Phenols / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D008372:Manure; D010636:Phenols; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012987:Soil
keywords: Glomeromycota; flavonoids; organic manure; sweet passion fruit