High frequency somatic embryogenesis in Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica L.).

摘要

Indian pennywort (Centella asiatica L.), 'The intelligence imparter', is an important medicinal herb due to its memory enhancing property. The natural wild populations of the species are under threat due to lack of organized cultivation coupled with uncontrolled exploitation. An effort was therefore made in this study to develop a protocol for high frequency plantlet regeneration through somatic embryogenesis in this herb. Nodal explants cultured on Musashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with BAP (2 mg/L) and NAA (0.2 mg/L) showed maximum callusing response (100%) within 10 days with a mean fresh (1.933 g) and dry (0.667 g) weight per culture, respectively. The embryogenic callus, thus generated, produced a mean number of 246.66 somatic embryos on this medium, out of which 40% showed in vitro germination. Embryo to plantlet conversion with 80% survival occurred upon transfer onto a medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BAP. The implication of the developed protocol for mass production of uniform Centella plant propagules for cultivation is discussed.CAS Registry Numbers 1214-39-7 86-87-3