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Micropropagation of ethnomedicinal plant Calotropis sp. and enhanced production of stigmasterol

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Abstract

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br. and Calotropis gigantea (L.) Ait. are two common species in the genus Calotropis, well known for their ethnomedicinal values. Micropropagation was initiated from cotyledonary node and cotyledonary leaf explants, cultured on agar base MS medium supplemented with different concentration and combination of plant growth regulators (PGRs). The highest shoot regenerative responses of nodal explants were observed on medium containing 2 mg L−1of BAP in both C. procera and C. gigantea. Induction of greenish friable callus was achieved with 1 mg L−1 NAA + 1.5 mg L−1 KIN from cotyledonary leaf explants. In vitro regenerated shoots developed root when transferred to MS medium containing 1.0 mg L−1 IBA. The well rooted plantlets were acclimatized in vermiculite and soil mixture (1:1 v/v) with an average survival rate of 90–93%. Quantification of secondary metabolite stigmasterol through HPTLC revealed higher content of it in in vitro cultured and ex vitro raised shoot of C. procera and C. gigantea compared to that of in naturally grown mother plant shoots. Optimized micropropagation protocol of the present investigation can be efficiently used for rapid in vitro plantlet regeneration and large scale production of pharmaceutically significant secondary metabolite stigmasterol without depleting natural population of Calotropis sp.

Key message

Enhanced production of secondary metabolite stigmasterol can be achieved through micro propagation of ethnomedicinally significant plant Calotropis sp. to meet the pharmaceutical need of present and future generations.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

BAP:

6-Benzylaminopurine

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

GA3 :

Gibberellic acid

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

NAA:

α-Naphthalene acetic acid

PGRs:

Plant growth regulators

HPTLC:

High-performance thin-layer chromatography

FW:

Fresh weight

DW:

Dry weight

LOD:

Limit of detection

LOQ:

Limit of quantification

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Acknowledgements

One of the authors (RS) acknowledges University Grants Commission (UGC), Govt. of India for financial support in form of fellowship. Authors are grateful to DR. T. Ravikumar, Dept of Botany, R. K. University, Anantapuram, Andhra Pradesh (India) for providing plant C. procera plant material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 751004, Odisha, India

    Rasmita Sethy & Bandana Kullu

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  1. Rasmita Sethy
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  2. Bandana Kullu
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Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation, original draft preparation: RS. Conceptualization, supervision, review and editing of manuscript: BK.

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Correspondence to Bandana Kullu.

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Communicated by Ali R. Alan.

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Sethy, R., Kullu, B. Micropropagation of ethnomedicinal plant Calotropis sp. and enhanced production of stigmasterol. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 149, 147–158 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-022-02231-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-022-02231-6

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