Plant tissue culture: An alternative for production of useful secondary metabolites

Abstract

Current study involves investigation of rosmarinic acid (RA) accumulation in callus cultures of Ocimum gratissimum (L.). Ocimum. is belongs to family: Lamiaceae, popularly known in India as Rama tulasi, tulasi is a traditional medicinal plant. Single node explants were inoculated on basal MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium containing 3% (w/v) sucrose, supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) for direct plant regeneration. Maximum numbers of shoot were observed on the medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP and 0.25 mg/l IAA after four weeks of culture. Callus was initiated from in vitro cultures of leaf explant on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and kinetin (KIN). In the present study profuse callus was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2, 4-D (1 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l). RA was isolated from callus harvested biomass and characterized by chromatographic techniques like TLC and HPTLC.