In Vitro Multiplication of Arnebia benthamii Wall., a Critically Endangered Medicinal Herb of the Western Himalayas

摘要

Arnebia benthamii (Wall. Ex G Don) Johnston [Syn Macrotomia benthamii (Wall.) DC] (family Boraginaceae), locally known as "Kahzaban", is a highly valued and critically endangered Himalayan medicinal plant, and ranks second in the list of medicinal plants prioritized for Western Himalaya and also figures among the 59 medicinal plants prioritized for conservation due to its high threat of extinction. An efficient in vitro multiplication and propagation system was developed for A. benthamii. Half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium augmented with different concentrations of 6-benzyladenine (BA) were used for shoot multiplication from shoot tip explants. The best response, i.e., multiple shoot formation, was with 5 uM BA. In another experiment, thecombined effect of BA with 1 uM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was tested. The maximum number of multiple shoots was obtained on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 4 uM BA and 1 uM IBA. Different concentrations of IBA, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) anda-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) were used to induce roots from shoots. Roots formed best on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 4 uM IBA, and 80% of plantlets transferred to field conditions survived.