In vitro propagation of Ocimum sanctum L., Ocimum canum Sims., and Ocimum tenuiflorum L., and evaluation of antioxidant, MMP-9 down regulation of eugenol and camphor

Abstract

• Eugenol and camphor could be suitable candidates for preventing diseases caused by oxidative stress and free radicals. • Eugenol and camphor are effective MMP-9 inhibitors under in vitro . • Cytokinins are most suitable for micropropagation. Medicinal plants have long been used as a source of drugs. Ocimum species contain a diverse range of distillate that are abundant in phenolics, as well as a variety of other organic ingredients such as phytoconstituents. The present study was undertaken to standardize the medium for shoot and callus induction using nodal and leaf explants of Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum canum and Ocimum tenuiflorum and to perform RAPD analysis for identification of somaclonal variants. To evaluate the free radical scavenging activity of eugenol and camphor and to test MMP-9 inhibition of eugenol and camphor using gelatin zymography. Zeatin (6.8 µM) was observed to be suitable for the induction of shoots among the cytokinins evaluated in Ocimum sanctum and Ocimum canum . BA (6.6 µM) was shown to be more effective for shoot induction in Ocimum tenuiflorum . Supplemented B5 medium with 2,4-D (6.7µM and 4.5 µM) and B5 medium supplemented with NAA (8.5 µM) were reported to be favorable for callus induction in Ocimum sanctum and Ocimum canum respectively. The polymorphism was discovered in in vitro produced plants of Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum canum , and Ocimum tenuiflorum using the primers OPK4 and OPK10. Antioxidant activity of eugenol and camphor has been evaluated using various in vitro antioxidant assays. This study clearly indicates that eugenol is a potent free radical scavenging agent when compared with camphor. Eugenol and camphor were used to alleviate inflammation caused by lipopolysaccharide-induced overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-9. Both eugenol and camphor are effective MMP-9 inhibitors in vitro , according to the results of this investigation. RT-PCR analysis clearly indicates the down regulation of over expressed MMP-9.