Abstract

OPTIMIZATION OF MS MEDIA FOR MICROPROPAGATION OF AN MEDICINAL PLANT-BACOPA MONNIERI (L.)

Bipul Ch. Kalita*, Pradip Doley, P. K. Mitra, Hui Tag and A. K. Das

ABSTRACT

Bacopa Monnieri L. popularly called as Brahmi is an important medicinal plant, traditionally used as tonic to enhance memory development, learning, concentration and to provide relief to patients with anxiety or epileptic disorders (Debnath et al, 2006). Environmental stress severely restricts the distribution and productivity of plants. In particular, salinity and drought are two major abiotic factors that limit crop productivity (Mahajan et al 2005). In order to overcome these problems of abiotic stress, tissue culture was used in the present study. Shoot apex and nodal explants of 1-1.2 cm were collected from young plants. They were watered twice a day. Explants were washed with running water for 20 min, immersed in Tween 20 solution for 10 min, washed thrice with doubled distilled water, sterilized using 0.1% (w/v) HgCl2 for 5 min and then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. Bacopa monnieri L. explants were inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 5mg/l BAP. The ph of MS medium was adjusted to 5.8 prior to autoclaving. The cultures were maintained at a temperature of 25+2oC and 16 h photo period. The shoot and nodal explants after 15-20 days showed callogenesis as well as morphogenesis. The proliferating shoots were separated and re-inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/l BAP.The growth of Bacopa for more than 45 days in tissue culture is a clear indicator that this medicinally important plant can be grown in adverse soil conditions.

Keywords: Nodal explants, MS medium and Shoots proliferation.