In vitro propagation and flavonoid contents in local justicia gendarussa Burm. F

Abstract

Justicia gendarussa or locally known as Gandarussa have been reported to contain naringenin and kaempferol that possess biological activities such as strong antioxidant and cytotoxicity. This paper present plant regeneration studies of J. gendarussa using different type of explants (young leaf and nodal segment) and media (B5 or MS basal media) supplemented with different concentration of plant growth regulators. The results indicated a maximum of callus fresh weight gains was obtained (1.21 g  0.11) when young leaf explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with Kn (3.0 mgL -1) + 2,4-D (1.0 mgL -1). For shoot induction, high percentage of shoot regeneration (100 %) and number of shoots produced per explants (5.33  0.33) was recorded when nodal explants were cultured on MSB5 plates supplemented with 2.0 mgL -1 BAP. Then, the shooted explants were rooted in medium-free hormone. Determination of flavonoids (naringenin and kaempferol) content in methanolic organ extracts of in vitro plantlets was analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector [GC-FID]. Green calli (701.27 mgkg -1 ± 7.69) contained significant higher naringenin content than in vitro leaves (419.99 mgkg -1 ± 133.39). However, there was no significant difference in kaempferol content between green calli (214.19 mgkg -1 ± 8.28) and in vitro leaves (242.03 mgkg -1 ± 41.13). In conclusion, accumulation of flavonoids in vitro plants offers potential of manipulating culture parameters such as medium composition and hormone concentration for enhancement of flavonoids content in plant tissues.