Establishment of protocorm suspension cultures of Dendrobium candidum for the production of bioactive compounds

Abstract

Dendrobium candidum is an important medicinal plant rich in polysaccharides, phenols, flavonoids and its bioactive compounds are known for various pharmacological activities. Natural populations of D. candidum are depleting due to overexploitation and increasing demand for medicinal and health products. An efficient protocol for protocorm suspension cultures of Dendrobium candidum in shake flasks was developed and the effect of auxins, basal media, nitrogen concentration, sucrose concentration, organic supplements like banana homogenate, coconut water and potato extract were investigated for the production of biomass and bioactive compounds. For the production of polysaccharides, polyphenolics, and flavonoids, the optimized culture conditions were found to be MS basal medium supplemented with 0.5 mg·L−1 NAA, 5:25 mM NH4:NO3 as nitrogen source, 2.5% (w/v) sucrose, and 1% (v/v) banana homogenate. Results of the current study could be used for scale-up process.