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WSN 137 (2019) 58-69 EISSN 2392-2192

Micropropagation of umbellata L. highly -yielding medicinal

V. Ayyadurai and K. Ramar* Department of , National College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli - 620 001, Tamil Nadu, India *E-mail address: [email protected]

ABSTRACT This paper proposes an efficient in vitro propagation method for a red dye yielding and medicinal herb - L. The plant is well-known in Siddha medicine for its styptic property. It is also used as drug for bronchial asthma, as a febrifuge and to treat poisonous bites and ulcers. Moreover, the red dye from its roots has been used in diverse applications since ancient times. These varied applications have increased the utilization and exploitation of this plant for medicinal and dye extraction purposes. Hence, a protocol for rapid propagation is standardized in the present study. Herein, the nodal and internodal of Oldenlandia umbellata L. were cultured on MS medium supplemented with cytokinins, 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), GA3, Kinetin (KIN), and auxins 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid NAA, 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2, 4-D). Direct organogenesis was the intent. In doing so, the nodal and internodal explants showed maximum number of shoots in the combination of 2.5 mg/l BAP, 2.0 mg/l GA3, 0.5 mg/l. In addition, the explants growing on medium supplemented with 10 mg/l BAP was found to have generated more shoots. The developed shoots were then transferred for rooting to half strength MS medium fortified with IAA, IBA and NAA ranging from 2-5 mg/l. The best results were achieved on 2.0 mg/l 89.6 % (IBA) Indole-3- butyric acid. For hardening, the rooted plantlets were subsequently transferred to paper cups containing FYM, red soil and sand in the ratio of 1:2:1. They were then transferred to the growth chamber for acclimatization. After acclimatization, the plantlets were transfer for further development under field conditions. About 95% survival was achieved in the field.

Keywords: Oldenlandia umbellata, Red dye, Ulcers, Cytokinins, Auxins, Micropropagation and Hardening

( Received 06 October 2019; Accepted 25 October 2019; Date of Publication 26 October 2019 ) World Scientific News 137 (2019) 58-69

1. INTRODUCTION

The Oldenlandia (family ) consists of different , many of which are used as traditional drugs [1]. Oldenlandia umbellata is commonly known as ‘‘Indian madder’’ and is known to yield a color-fast red dye from its roots that has been used in diverse applications since ancient times. The root bark, preferably of two-year-old , when used with a mordant, will confer a red color to calico, wool and silk fabrics [2]. Oldenlandia umbellata is a low growing plant native to India and commonly found in parts of India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Indonesia. The plant is used in herbal formulations in various traditional systems of medicine. This is due to its diverse pharmacological attributes. The plant is well-known in Siddha Medicine for its styptic property. It is also a drug that can be administered for bronchial asthma, as a decoction of the entire plant, a decoction made from its root and liquorice in the ratio 10:4 or as a powdered root given either with water or honey. A decoction of the root is also used as a febrifuge. Both leaves and roots are also deemed good expectorants, and are recommended for treatment of asthma, bronchitis, and bronchial catarrh [3]. The plant has been used in several other diverse applications, for instance, a decoction of leaves is used to treat poisonous bites, while the roots are used in asthma, bronchitis and bronchial catarrh treatment, and also are considered as being good expectorant [4]. The root extract of O. umbellata contain different constituents of anthraquinone such as alizarin, purpurin, damnacanthal, 1,2,3-triethoxyanthraquinone, 1,3-dimethoxy-2-hydroxy anthraquinone and 1,2-dimethoxyanthraquinone [7]. In addition, the dye obtained from its roots is reported as a novel pH indicator [5]. These multiple uses have increased utilization and exploitation of O. umbellata by different industries for medicinal and dye extraction purposes [6]. Natural regeneration of O. umbellata is mainly through seeds. However, due to the habitat loss and continuous exploitation of its roots for the extraction of dye and herbal drugs, the O. umbellata resource in the natural stands is becoming depleted, As a result, natural stands of O. umbellata are fast disappearing and are threatened with due to indiscriminate collection. Thus, commercialization requires appropriate methods for conservation and propagation. A comprehensive literature search revealed that methods for micropropagation of O. umbellata are available [8-9]. Tissue culture of O. umbellata through callus mediated organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis has also been reported [10]. Considering its pharmaceutical importance, an efficient protocol for tissue culture and plant regeneration is a pre-requisite for further biotechnological processes and for breeding programs [11-12]. In vitro procedures and plant regeneration are used to some degree in almost every major plant species. The success of such biotechnology requires an efficient protocol for plant regeneration from different explants [13]. With regard to O. umbellate, the present study reports development of an efficient in vitro propagation protocol using nodal, internodal and leaf explants and assessing the genetic stability of the regenerated plants.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2. 1. Plant material and surface sterilization Young branches of Oldenlandia umbellata were collected from Kolli hills Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu (Plate I, Fig. 1-2). The branches were covered in polythin bag and brought

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to the laboratory within 5 hrs and cultured after sterilization. The young leaves were collected and washed with 1% (v/v) Teepol solution for 10 min followed by washing in running tap water for 5 min. The explants were then surface-disinfected by immersion for 7 min in 0.1% (w/v) aqueous mercuric chloride solution. After three rinses in sterile distilled water, the explants were excised into 1.5 cm x 4 mm in diameter and cultured on callus induction medium.

2. 2. Shoot regeneration In a laminar air flow cabinet, sterilized Nodal, internodal and leaf explants (about 1.0 cm in length) were inoculated in culture tubes (22 × 150 mm) containing 25 ml of sterile Murashige and Skoog medium [14]. 3% (w/v) sucrose 8 g/l agar and pH adjusted to 5.8. Explants were maintained in a growth room in the dark at a temperature of 25 ºC. After 35 days, callus induction was evaluated and callus fresh weight and dry weight was determined. The basal medium was supplemented with different growth regulators in different concentrations and combinations. In the present study, two types of media were employed on the basis of growth regulator used. The first category was callus initiation and induction medium and the second include shoot differentiating medium. The former medium was fortified with various concentrations of (BAP 3.0 mg/l) alone or in combination with 2.0 mg/l (GA3). The latter consisted of different concentrations of N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP 1.0–5.0 mg/l) or GA3 (1.0–3.0 mg/l) alone or in combination with (KIN 0.5–2.5 mg/l), (NAA 0.5-2.5 mg/l). The callus was periodically subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l (GA3). For shoot regeneration from callus, 50 mg calli were transferred to each culture tube. Data on percentage of calli forming shoots and mean shoot number and length of differentiated shoots were recorded after 35 days of culture. MS medium lacking growth regulators served as the control.

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2. 3. Shoot elongation, rooting and field transfer The shoots below 2.5 cm in length were excised and subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/l BAP for shoot elongation. The shoots having approximately 3.0 cm in length were harvested from the shoot elongation medium and cultured on half strength MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA; 0.5–2.5 mg/l) or NAA (0.5–3.0 mg/l) for root induction. Data were recorded for percent rooting, root number and length after 45 d of transfer on rooting medium. Plantlets with well developed roots were removed from culture tubes, washed well to remove the remnants of agar from roots and transplanted to plastic cups (6 cm diameter) containing garden soil and sand (1:1). The plantlets were placed in glasshouse set at 24 ± 2 ºC, 85–95% relative humidity and irradiance (60 mol m−2s−1) provided by cool white fluorescent tubes. Plants were irrigated with half-strength MS salt solution for 3 weeks and thereafter with water. After 45 days the plants were transferred to larger pots and kept under shade in a net house for another 2 weeks before transferring outside under full sun to develop into mature plants.

2. 4. Culture conditions The pH was adjusted to 5.8 with 1.0 N HCl or 1.0 N NaOH before autoclaving the medium at 1.06 kg cm−2 and 121 ºC for 20 min. The cultures were maintained in a culture room with a 16h/8h light/dark photoperiod at 23 ± 2 ºC unless otherwise mentioned. Light was supplied at intensity of 80 mol m−2S−1 supplied by two Philips TL 40W cool-white fluorescent lamps. Each treatment consisted of 20 tubes and all experiments repeated 3 times. The data were presented as mean and its standard deviation (mean ± SD).

3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION 3. 1. Multiple shoot induction For multiple shoot induction the impact of different plant growth regulators like BAP in combination with KIN.GA3 and BAP in combination with GA3 and KIN were tested. In all the tested combination of plant growth regulators induced multiple shoots induction was noticed from the Nodal and internodal explants. Among the different treatments medium comprising of MS salt B5 vitamins BAP (2.5 mg/l), GA3 (2.0 mg/l) and KIN 0.5 mg/l, (Table 1) nodal explant (Plate: II Fig. 3-5) and internodal explant (Plate: II Fig. 9-11) showed best result response for multiple shoot induction the nodal and internodal explants in this concentration large number of the nodal and internodal shoot were observed from single (92.3 %). Individual treatment of cytokinins and combination treatment of cytokinins along with small amount of auxins showed low percentage of multiple shoots induction when compared with above concentration. When compared with BAP and KIN. BAP showed superior percentage of response for multiple shoots induction. Hence for combination treatment studies along with auxins BAP was selected in combination treatments supplementation of KIN (0.5 mg/l) GA3 (1.0 mg/l) along with BAP (2.5 mg/l) showed low response when compared with BAP and IAA treatment. Multiple shoots were transferred to shoot elongation medium, medium comparing with MS salts B5vitamines and different concentration of GA3 and BAP. The highest percentage of shoot elongation 3.0 mg/l GA3 and 1.5 mg/l BAP (90.2 %) for nodal and internodal explant (Table 2) nodal explant (Plate: II Fig. 6) internodal explant (Plate: II Fig. 12).

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3. 2. Rooting and hardened For root induction studies the elongation multiple shoots from the shoot clusters were individually separated and were kept for rooting in MS medium supplemented with various auxins. Initially for root induction supplementation of all the auxins tested different concentration of IAA, IBA and NAA the high frequency of root induction form node and internodes IBA 2.0 mg/l (89.6 %) (Table 3) (node explant Plate: II – Fig. 7-8, internodal explant Plate: II- Fig. 13-14) The shoots with root were transferred to plastic pots for hardening survival of about 98 % of in vitro derived plants was observed after 1 month. The fully regenerated plantlets under green house condition were transferred to field for further development. Similar to this, in several studies BAP was more effective in inducing and sprouting of a large number of shoots [15-19]. Several workers showed that the synergistic combination of two cytokinins was more effective for shoot differentiation [20-22]. Development of efficient and reproducible regeneration protocol from cells/tissues holds tremendous potential for the production of high- quality plant-based medicines [23]. In vitro conservation of valuable indigenous germplasm threatened with depletion as well as for the successful application of recent cellular manipulation techniques for the improvement of crop plants. In this direction the choice of explants is of cardinal importance and makes an absolute difference between success and failure in inducing regeneration in vitro. The plant regeneration from nodal segments is considered to be one of the most promising ways for multiplying a selected variety true to its type showing the same agronomic characteristics. Moreover, the nodal segment, which had a pre-existing meristem, is suitable for clonal propagation because it is easily manipulated, has a high proliferation rate and maintains clonal fidelity [24-27]. In this study, it is remarkable that BAP induced green subsequent shoot regeneration regardless of the Oldenlandia umbellata L.

Table 1. Multiple Shoot induction response from Nodal and Internodal Explants of Oldenlandia umbellata L.

Nodal and Internodal Explants PGR ( mg/L) No of No of shoot bud / % of Shoots length Explants Explants response Mean ± SD. culture Mean ± SD. BAP 1.0 100 41.2 2.7 ± 0.86 1.3±0.26 1.5 100 53.3 3.4 ± 0.13 3.2±0.30 2.0 100 71.4 4.5 ± 0.55 3.4±0.24 2.5 100 89.7 5.3 ± 0.44 4.3±0.40 3.0 100 64.4 4.6 ± 0.24 2.6±0.31 GA3 1.0 100 63.4 4.1 ± 0.32 1.2±0.42

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2.0 100 76.0 5.2 ± 0.43 2.4±0.65 3.0 100 74.6 6.3 ± 0.24 3.5±0.45 4.0 100 46.8 3.4 ± 0.55 1.1±0.17 5.0 100 45.5 4.5 ± 0.33 1.5±0.35

BAP GA3 KIN 2.5 1.0 0.5 100 76.5 4.3±0.43 1.1±0.22 2.5 1.5 0.5 100 86.2 5.2±0.37 1.2±0.44 2.5 2.0 0.5 100 92.3 6.4±0.53 2.4±0.86 2.5 2.5 0.5 100 81.4 4.1±0.32 0.4±0.46 2.5 3.0 0.5 100 76.6 4.5±0.34 1.8±0.32

Observations were made up to 35 days of inoculation. Values represent mean±standard deviation of 20 replicates per treatment and each experiment was repeated thrice for percentage of explants response.

Table 2. Shoot elongation responses of multiple shoots raised from Nodal and Internodal Explants of Oldenlandia umbellata L.

Nodal and Internodal Explants PGR (mg/l) No. of shoots per No of explants % Shoot height (cm) Explant culture response Mean ± SD. GA3 BAP Mean ± SD.

1.0 0.5 100 76.2 3.1±1.32 2.8±2.12 2.0 1.0 100 85.2 3.7±1.81 2.6±2.21 3.0 1.5 100 90.2 4.2±1.32 3.1±2.51 4.0 2.0 100 77.5 2.5±1.33 2.3±2.17 5.0 2.5 100 74.2 2.2±1.24 1.9±2.19

Observations were made up to 68 days of inoculation. Values represent mean±standard deviation of 20 replicates per treatment and each experiment was repeated thrice for percentage of explants response.

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Table 3. Effect of different forms and concentrations of auxins on rooting in Oldenlandia umbellata L.

Nodal and Internodal Explants

PGR (mg/l) Mean root number Mean root length % Response Mean ± SD (cm) Mean ± SD

IBA 0.5 35.1 2.3±1.15 2.3±1.12 1.0 48.2 3.2±1.18 2.8±1.24 1.5 63.4 3.5±1.04 3.6±1.23 2.0 89.6 5.8±1.19 5.6±1.26 2.5 78.5 3.9±1.14 4.4±1.21 NAA 0.2 47.8 3.9±0.15 2.4±0.18 0.4 59.9 2.4±1.12 1.4±0.13 0.6 75.4 3.5±0.22 2.1±0.24 0.8 81.3 4.3±1.25 3.7±0.34 1.0 72.5 3.6±1.17 2.4±0.13 IAA 0.2 40.4 1.3±0.16 1.3±0.74 0.4 48.0 2.3±0.14 1.6±0.35 1.0 67.4 2.6±0.41 1.8±0.53 1.5 79.3 3.8±1.37 2.8±1.55 2.0 64.9 2.4±0.94 2.3±1.47

Observations were made up to 85 days of inoculation. Values represent mean ± standard deviation of 20 replicates per treatment and each experiment was repeated thrice for percentage of explants response.

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4. CONCLUSIONS

The present study describes an efficient in vitro regeneration protocol for micropropagation of Oldenlandia umbellata L. Promising plant regeneration from nodal and internodal explants was influenced markedly by combinations of BAP, GA3 and Kinetin. The entire in vitro regenerated shoot was rooted successfully for direct methods from Oldenlandia umbellata. This study aims to develop a standard protocol to initiate multiple shoot culture at a standardized media and hormonal concentration of plant that maybe beneficial for in vitro large scale propagation of the plant this could reduce the time, energy, labor and cost of production of plantlets. The protocol can be used for drug research, genetic transformation, adventitious root cultures for in vitro dye production and the commercial cultivation of Oldenlandia umbellata L. Further studies could concentrate on rapid multiplication and germplasm conversation of Oldenlandia umbellata L. with bioreactor technology, and optimizing transformation conditions for genetic improvement

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the management of National College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, for providing the necessary facilities.

References

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