In vitro micropropagation of Colecus arometicus- An important medicinal plant

 

Iffat Khan1*, Kirti Jain2

1Sarojini Naidu Govt. College, Shivaji Nagar, 462016, Bhopal (M.P.), India.

2Govt.  Science and Commerce College, Benazir Jahangirabad, 462016, Bhopal (M.P.), India.

 

 

ABSTRACT:

In vitro micropropagation of Coleus aromaticus using shoot meristems was developed. Coleus arometicus is an important medicinal plant, contains an active ingredient colecus. Multiple shoots were induced in vitro from Apical and Auxiliary meristems. Murashige and Skoog’s medium supplemented with BAP 0.5 to 3.0 mg/l, 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l Kn, 1.0 mg/l BAP + 1.0 mg/l Kn, 1.0 mg/l BAP + 2.0 mg/l Kn. MS + 2.0 mg/l BAP was found to be most suitable for shoot tip multiplication (75%). For rooting the shoots were excised and transferred to MS medium combination with ether 10 g/l sucrose or 1 mg/l NAA + 20g sucrose or 200 mg activated charcoal. Rooted plantlets were then transferred to pot covered with polyethylene bags for one week and then grown in the green house. These hardened plants have been successfully established in soil. 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Coleus arometicus is a very important medicinal plant, comes under Lamiaceae family. This "Power" herb has an active ingredient in it called Colecus. C. arometicus a perennial plant with strong camphor-like odor that was first discovered in the lower elevations of India. It grows well in warm temperate or subtropical areas.

 

It has been used for over 3,000 years in Ayurvedic Medicine. In ancient Sanskrit texts it is known as Makandi and was said to have been used for supporting healthy functioning heart and lungs, Allergies, Asthma, Bladder infection, Eczema, Glaucoma, Hypertension, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Spastic Colon) menstrual cramps, weight loss  and a number of other functions in the body. Coleus has long been used in traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) medicine, but gained popularity when chemical extract of the root called Colecus demonchitis, helps in glaucoma, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. The root is used for a myriad of medicinal purposes. In recent years, Coleus arometicus has gained recognition as the only known plant source of the diterpene. Other uses include treatment of ulcers, boils, swellings, urogenital and wound healing properties. It is used by almost all local people for its therapeutically efficacy against common cold, cough, fever, headache and indigestion1.

 

The demand of this powerful herb is increasing day by day and thus a large multiplication of this plant is necessary. Micropropagation using meristem, shoot tip, and nodal explants is the most favored method for producing clones of elite varieties of crops. Sometimes slight difference in the genetic is from undiffentiated tissue like callus or cell suspensions. Somatic embryos derived from such tissue may also show variations that are basically tissue culture induced. Such variations are termed somaclonal variation. Normally these variations are screened for beneficial attributes and are utilized in crop improvement programs.


Much work has not been done in the tissue culture protocol development of Coleus arometicus, so an advance protocol needs to be developed for the proper and rapid mass micropropagation of Coleus arometicus. Thus, in the present work an appropriate and efficient protocol is trying to being developed.

 

Plant tissue culture is an emerging tool for plant biotechnology and a potential tool for micro propagation of some economically important crops of agriculture, horticulture, forestry rare and threatened plants. This micropropagation procedure should be useful for conservation as well as production of this important medicinal plant.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This technique involves sterilization, inoculation and regeneration of plant cells, tissues of organ under aseptic conditions in culture vials containing synthetics nutrient medium. Both the chemical composition of the medium and the controlled conditions (light, temperature, humidity aeration, etc.) effectively control the expression of any genotypic and phenotypic potential in explants.

 

Explants preparation and inoculation

Apical and Auxiliary meristems were used as explants excised from the plant growing in green house of institute. Explants were washed with soap solution followed by tap water for 25min.It was surface sterilized with 0.1% (w/v) mercuric chloride solution for 10 min and followed by rising with sterilized distilled water for 4-5min.Now inoculate the explants in the medium for the initiation of shoots.  The pH of the medium was adjusted to 5.75 with 0.1 N NaOH or 0.1 N HCl solution prior to adding 0.8% (w/v) agar. The cultures were incubated at a temperature of 25±2ºC.

 

Multiplication of shoots

After 10-15 days the bud break were initiated in the medium. Initiated healthy shoots were excised and used for multiplication.

 

Different media used for multiplication -

Medium 1              MS + 1.0 mg/l BAP

Medium 2              MS + 2.0 mg/l BAP

Medium 3              MS + 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l KN

Medium 4              MS +3.0 mg/l BAP

Medium 5              MS + 2.0 mg/l BAP + 1.0 KN

Medium 6              MS + 1.0 mg/l BAP + 2.0 KN

Medium 7              MS + 2.0 KN mg/l

 

The measurement was taken on the basis of % age of shoot response, number of multiple shoot developed, shoot length and callus formed from each ten replicates.

 

Root induction

Regeneration multiple shoots were separated in different rooting medium. Shoots of 2-3cm were transferred to MS medium containing either 10g/l sucrose or 1 mg/l NAA + 20g sucrose or 200 mg activated charcoal. Rooted plantlets were then transferred to pot covered with polyethylene bags for one week and than grown in the green house.

 

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Micropropagation using shoot tip is preferred in recent times over conventional vegetative propagation because of rapidity of multiplication within a short period of time. The advantage of shoot tip culture is that the shoot has already been differentiated in vivo. Therefore to establish a complete plant, only elongation of the existing shoot and root differentiation is required. The most significant advantage of shoot tip culture is that, in a relatively short time a large number of true-to-true disease free plants could be produced.

 

In Coleus arometicus for shoot tip multiplication was obtained maximum in BAP alone. The optimum concentration was found to be 2.0 mg/l BAP. The dose of cytokinin is critical in shoot organogenisis2. Geetha et al. reported high frequency shoot multiplication from cotyledonary nodes of pigeonpea in the presence of BAP3. The shoot regeneration frequency increase with increase in concentration of cytokinins concentration above 2mg/l drastically decreased shoots bud regenration. However in Coleus arometicus higher concentratins of BAP in the medium decrease multiple shoot induction and BAP alone was satisfactory in including shoot multiplication. BAP in combination with Kin decrease shoot multiplication. BAP alone in medium induced bud break and multiple shoot formation in Mentha4 (table 1, table 2 and Fig. 1). On the contrary, synergistic effect of two cytokinins on shoot multiplication was shown in Citrus aurantifolia5 and in Kaempferia galanga6. Kartha reported high frequency shoot multiplication and elongation from shoot apical meristem of Lycopersicon esculentum7. He suggested meristem proper culture as an efficient plant propagation system producing fewer polyploids or chromosomally aberrant plants. Genetic stability is conserved in the case of plants derived from shoot tip culture8.

 

The active meristem located on the nodes could attribute to the formation of multiple shoot in the present investigation, Continuous presence of cytokinins in the medium resulted in shoot length supperssion that has also been reported in guava9.

 

Rooting of the micro propagated plants was usually achieved in auxin containing medium10. Root formation is an energy demanding process and thus exogenous supply of carbohydrates is required. However this being the last stage of vitro culture it is important to transform the plant from heterotrophic to autotropic mode of nutrition. Thus the supply of exogenous sugars should be reduced at this time. In Colecus arometicus the reduction of sugar to 2% level decreased rooting. In most species, reducing sugar from 3%-2% level does not make any difference. In Coleus arometicus the use of NAA has been used for root initiation. The multiple shoot production protocol developed in this study may be utilized for the cultivation practices of this commercially important medicinal plant.

 

FINDING AND CONCLUSION:

The explants show better response when collected and inoculated from the month of August to March. But when collected in other month the response of the explants is poor. The maximum explants were sterilized when treated for 4-5 minutes with 0.1% HgCl2 solution, shows 80-95% sterile culture. When the treatment of the explants is below 4 minutes and above 5 minutes the percentage of sterilization is low and dehydrated  respectively. But when the explants were treated with 70% alcohol for any duration the explants got dehydrated. Thus treatment of alcohol is avoided in the explants of Coleus arometics.

 

Figure  1: Colecus  arometicus;  a and b-habit ; c-initiation of root ; d-multiplication of root,  e and f-root induction in shoot. 


 

Table 1 Effect of growth regulations on multiplication of shoots in Colecus arometicus

Medium + Growth hormones mg/I

% age of shoot induction

No. of shoots per culture

Average shoot length in c.m.

Callussing

MS + 0.5 BAP

75%

1-3

1-2

-

MS + 1.0 BAP

70%

1-2

2 cm

-

MS + 1.5 BAP

68%

1-1.5

2 cm

-

MS + 2.0 BAP

60%

1-2

1-2

-

MS + 0.5 KN

40%

1

1-2

+

MS + 1.0 KN

42%

1

1-2

++

MS + 0.5      BAP + 0.5 KN

45%

1

1

++

MS + 1.0       BAP + 0.5 KN

45%

1-2

1

+

 

Table 2 Effect of growth regulations on multiplication of shoots in Colecus arometicus

Medium + Growth hormones mg/l

% age of response

Average number of shoots

Average shoot length in cm.

Callussing

MS + 1.0 BAP

70%

15

2-3

-

MS + 2.0 BAP

75%

15-20

2-3

-

MS + 2.0 BAP            + 0.5 KN

60%

8-10

2-5

+

MS + 3.0 BAP

30%

4-5

3-5

-

MS + 1.0 BAP            + 1.0 KN

20%

5-8

1-2

+

MS + 1.0 BAP            + 2.0 KN

20%

4-9

1-2

++

 

REFERENCES:

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2.       Gulati A, Jaiwal PK. Plant regeneration from cotyledonary explants of mungbean (Vigna rediata L.) Plant Cell Rep. 1994; 13: 523–527.

3.       Geetha N, Venkatachalam P, Prakash V, Lakshmi Sita G. High frequency induction of multiple shoots and plant regeneration from seedling explants of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.). Plant Biotechnol.1998; 16(3):213-218.

4.       Gopinath D, Nair AS. In vitro shoot multiplication and essential oil analysis in Mentha arvensis. J Cytol Genet. 2001; 135-142.

5.       Al-Bahrany AM. Effect of phytohormones on in vitro shoot multiplication and rooting of lime Citrus aurantifolia Swing. Sci. Hortic. 2002; 95: 285-295.

6.       Vincent KA, Mathew MK, Molly Hariharan Micropropagation of Kaempferia galanga L. - A medicinal plant.Plant Cell Tiss. Organ Cult. 1992; 28: 229-230.

7.       Yanagihara H, Sakata R, Y. ShoyamaY, Murakami H. Relationship between the content of forskolin and growth environmental in clonally propagated colecus froskolin Briq. Biotronics.1995; 24: 1-6.   

8.       Chaturvedi HG, Mitra GC. Clonal propagation of citrus from somatic callus culture. HortSci. 1974; 9(2):118- 120.

9.       Muhammad NA, Jaiswal VS. Micropropagation as an aid to rapid cloning of a guava cultivar. Scientia Horticulturae.1987;  36(1): 9-95

10.    Gaspar T, Coumans M. Root formation In: Cell and tissue culture in forestry. Vol. II Bong.  J.M. and Durzan, D.J. (Eds.) Marlinus Nijhof Publishers. Dordrecht. 1987; 202-217.

 

Received on 17.02.2012

Modified on 28.02.2012

Accepted on 10.03.2012     

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Research J. Science and Tech.  4(1): Jan.-Feb. 2012: 18-21