Regeneration of an anticarcinogenic herb, Curculigo orchioides (Gaertn.)

Summary

Curculigo orchioides is an endangered anticarcinogenic herb. It is available only during the monsoon season, which lasts approximately 4 mo. each year. In vitro culture of the plant can ensure its availability throughout the year. Leaf explants of Curculigo orchioides cultured on a Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium without cytokinins produced a limited number of plantlets that originated directly from the cut end of the midrib. 6-Benzyladenine (BA) (0.44–6.66 µM) was needed to produce plantlets from rhizome explants. A higher concentration of BA (2.22–4.44 µM) resulted in nodular callus that when transferred to cytokinin-free medium formed shoots. The shoots were rooted on media supplemented with either (0.54–5.37 µM) of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (0.57–5.71 µM) of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), or (0.49–4.90 µM) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Plantlets were kept in sterile sand for 3–4 d and then transferred to soil.