Production of psoralen by in vitro regenerated plants from callus cultures of Psoralea corylifolia L.

Author： Baskaran P. Jayabalan N. Staden J.

ISSN： 0167-6903

Source： Plant Growth Regulation, Vol.65, Iss.1, 2011-09, pp. : 47-54

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Abstract

Psoralea corylifolia is an attractive, endangered annual producing various bioactive compounds of medical importance. This plant contributes to Indian pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries for the production of commercial medicines, Ayurvedic skin care ointments and soap. The influence of various plant growth regulators (PGRs) and additives on high-frequency rapid adventitious shoot regeneration from transverse thin cell layer (tTCL) hypocotyl explants of P. corylifolia was investigated. Organogenic callus was obtained in tTCL hypocotyl explants on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 15 μM naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 3 μM benzylaminopurine (BA). The highest adventitious shoot regeneration (107.5 shoots per explant) was achieved in culture when transferred to half-strength solid MS medium. The regenerated shoots were rooted and the plantlets successfully acclimatized in moistened (1/8-MS basal salt solution with 3 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 1 μM 2-isopentenyladenine (2iP) and 100 mg l⁻¹ Bavistin (BVN)); garden soil, farmyard soil and sand (2:1:1, v/v/v). The acclimatized plants produced flowers in the growth chamber. When planted in the field these plants set viable seed. The psoralen content in different tissues of ex vitro and naturally-grown plants was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest psoralen content was recorded in seeds from naturally-grown (6.48 μg g⁻¹DW) and ex vitro plants (6.46 μg g⁻¹DW). This system can be used for rapid mass propagation of P. corylifolia, for conservation strategies, and to produce phytomedicines.