Binit Baraika* & Shalini Lala
Dept. of Botany, Ranchi college, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand. India
Received , 12th January , 2014 ; Revised: 18th February. 2014
Abstract : In view of the growing world population, increasing anthropogenic activities, rapidly eroding natural ecosystem, the natural habitat for a great number of herbs and trees are dwindling. Many of them are facing extinction. With an ever increasing inclination for the herbal medicine, there is an obligatory demand for the huge raw material of medicinal plants thus contributing to the great extinction risk to many medicinal plants and obviously the loss of genetic diversity. Hence the intervention of biotechnology is need of the hour for accelerating large scale clonal multiplication of the medicinal plants and their conservation through Tissue banks and Gene Banks. It will further help in in vitro selection of lines with desirable morphological traits such as enhanced production of secondary metabolites. Rauwolfia serpentina (Apocynaceae) a woody perennial shrub is one of the most important medicinal plant used in India for the treatment of snakebites, hypertension, high blood pressure and mental illness. The present investigation is an effort to establish rapid clonal propagation method in Rauwolfia serpentina using nodal and apical buds of mature plants. The explants were cultured on MS media supplemented with varying concentrations of Kinetin, BAP and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetiec acid. The best multiple shooting response was observed in media supplemented with BAP along with low concentration of auxin. The developed shoots were excised after one month and were cultured on half strength MS media supplemented with different concentration of IBA. Maximum rooting was observed (80%) in 0.5 mg/ml of IBA. Plants with well developed roots were acclimatized successfully in small pots.
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