Abstract
Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C. Jeffrey, commonly referred to as “Shivalingi” or “Lollipop climber” is a valuable medicinal plant with a climbing growth habit used in traditional medicine. It is reputed to have antiarthritic, anti-diabetic properties and to be useful in various skin and reproductive problems. Overexploitation of wild plants and low seed germination have resulted in the decline of the species in the wild. Thus, the present investigation was aimed to establish an effective in vitro propagation procedure for its large-scale production and conservation. Nodal explants, obtained from an established mother plant were grown on MS basal medium augmented with various cytokinins, alone or in combination with auxins, to study the morphogenic response. A maximum of 8.3 shoots/explants with an average shoot length of 7.2 cm were produced after six weeks on MS containing benzylaminopurine 5.0 µM + 1-naphthaleneacetic acid 2.0 µM. After 4 weeks of transfer, microshoots rooted well on a low nutrient medium of ½ MS + 1.0 µM indole-3-butyric acid, with a maximum of 11.0 roots/microshoot and an average root length of 7.4 cm. With an 80% survival rate, the regenerated plantlets were effectively acclimatized to natural conditions. DNA-based molecular markers were used to investigate the genetic uniformity. Scanning Electron Microscopic examination of leaves indicated the adaptation of the plantlets to natural, as evidenced by the formation of normal stomata. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of mother and micropropagated plants were performed to identify essential secondary metabolites. The results obtained show that the in vitro propagation system can be adopted for preservation, large-scale production and secondary metabolites’ production in D. palmatus.
Highlights
An efficient in vitro propagation procedure was developed for D. palmatus, a medicinally important plant species
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) of various kinds and concentrations have a substantial impact on shoot and root development, the process of micropropagation
The response was significantly affected by reducing or increasing the concentration of BA: on the media supplemented with a lower concentration (0.5 μM), the shoots number decreased to 1.6 shoots/explant and with a higher concentration (10.0 μM)
Summary
Jeffrey belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae, is an annual climber [1,2,3] and reported to synthesize compounds with medicinal properties [4,5]. It is known as Shivalingi or Lollipop climber and is distributed throughout India. The whole plant has been used to treat several diseases, such as fever [8], asthma [9], inflammations [10,11], and various skin conditions [12,13,14]. The whole plant in the form of juice is taken for the treatment of cough [18,19], while the leaf paste is used to treat joint discomfort and rheumatism. [20]
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