Effect of heavy metals on germination, biochemical, antioxidant and withanolide content in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal., commonly referred to as Ashwagandha, is a medicinal plant from the solanaceae family with a wide range of pharmacological properties. W. somnifera is a rich source of withanolides, such as withanolide A, withanolide B, withanolide D, withaferin A, etc. and these molecules are attributed for large number of pharmacological activities. In the present study, the impact of heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) has been assessed on the growth, biochemical parameters, antioxidant activity and withanolide A and withaferin A content of W. somnifera. The seeds of W. somnifera were germinated in cocopeat treated with different concentrations of Cd (0–200 ppm), Hg (10–100 ppm), and Pb (0–2000 ppm) for 21 days. There have been substantial differences between the heavy metal-treated plants and the control plants with the lowest germination of 20% has been observed in the plants treated with 2000 ppm Pb. The selected metals inhibited vegetative growth with lowest length of 3.07 cm and lowest biomass of 0.74 g in 180 ppm Cd and 200 ppm Cd treated plants respectively. With the addition of heavy metals, biochemical parameters like protein, carbohydrate, chlorophyll, total phenol, flavonoid, and proline content varied significantly and showed metal tolerance by exhibiting antioxidant activity at lower concentrations. The metal accumulation occurred in a dose-dependent manner with highest Cd accumulation of 14.30 mg kg?1, Hg accumulation of 42.45 mg kg?1, and Pb accumulation of 217.46 mg kg?1 of dry biomass of the plants. The withanolide content increased up to a specific metal concentration and decreased with a further increase in heavy metal concentration. The seeds treated with 1200 ppm of Pb showed the highest withanolide A content of 1.7 mg g?1 DW, and the seeds treated with 80 ppm of Cd showed the highest withaferin A content of 3.2 mg g?1 DW

Heavy metal stress influence the andrographolide content, phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of Andrographis paniculata

Heavy metals (HM) are toxic components present in the earth’s crust that can have a negative impact on plants as well as animals. Andrographis paniculata or ‘King of bitters’ belonging to the family Acanthaceae, is a medicinal herb traditionally used in the treatment of fever, common cold etc. In the present study, the effect of heavy metals (copper, tin and cobalt) on the andrographolide content, biochemical parameters like chlorophyll, carotenoid, protein, Total phenolic content (TPC), Total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity in A. paniculata were analysed. Saplings of A. paniculata were treated at 50 and 100 mM concentrations, three different times at a time interval of 7 days. Andrographolide production was found to increase in copper and cobalt treated saplings when compared with the control. From the results, maximum andrographolide concentration was found in the saplings treated with 50 mM copper (8.51 mg/g of DW) and 50 mM tin (8.10 mg/g of DW) respectively. 50 mM cobalt treated plants have shown the highest concentration of TPC (17.21 mg/g of extract) and TFC (6.97 mg/g of extract). Notable variations in other biochemical parameters like total chlorophyll, carotenoid content and antioxidant activities were observed in all treatments compared with the control

Effect of Inoculum Density and Different Media on the Growth of Hairy Roots and Production of Withanolide-A from Withaniasomnifera

Withaniasomnifera (L.) Dunal. (Indian ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal plants used as a crude drug for its preventive and therapeutic purposes. Among the diverse constituents of Withania, withanolides are found to be the major components responsible for their biological and pharmacological actions. The present study deals with the effect of inoculum density and different media on the growth of hairy roots and withanolide-A production from Withaniasomnifera. An inoculum size of 10 g/L FW favoured the biomass accumulation(120.42 g/L of FW and 11.98 g/L DW) and withanolide-A production(11.96 mg/g DW) inthe tested range of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 g/L FW. Among different media tested [Murashige and Skoog (MS), Gamborg’s (B5), Nitsch and Nitsch (NN) and Chu’s (N6)], MS medium favoured both biomass accumulation (121.15 g/L FW and 11.96 g/L DW) and withanolide-A production (11.50 mg/g DW)

Production of Boeravinone-B, total phenolic, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity from callus cultures of Punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa L.)

Boerhavia diffusa L. (Punarnava) is a medicinal herb, rich in diversified plant secondary metabolites used in curing various health ailments. Boeravinone-B is one of the important phytochemicals reported in Punarnava, possessing various pharmacological activities. It belongs to the family of rotenoids, belonging to the isoflavone group. Production of Boeravinone-B from the Punarnava through conventional propagation is comparatively very low, and alternative interventions are of utmost importance to meet the growing demand. In view of this, the present study aims to develop biotechnological approaches like cell/tissue culture as a substitute strategy for the accumulation of biomass and Boeravinone-B biosynthesis. Callus was established from leaf explants of Boerhavia diffusa L. when cultured on MS semi solid medium fortified with varied concentrations and combinations of auxins and cytokinins. The callus induced on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS medium) supplemented with 5.0 ppm 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) favored the highest production of Boeravinone-B analyzed through High-performance Liquid chromatography (HPLC) and it was found to be 673.95 ?g g-1 Dry weight (DW). The total phenolic and flavonoid content were determined for the callus extracts and the results showed that callus induced on 5.0 ppm 2,4-D medium showed the highest phenolic and flavonoid content, which was 63.48 mg g-1 Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) Dry weight (DW), and 30.22 mg g-1 Quercetin equivalent (QE) DW. Similarly, antioxidant activities (radical scavenging, metal chelating, and reducing power) were performed, and it was found that callus induced on 5.0 ppm 2,4-D showed the highest anti-oxidant potential. Radical scavenging activity was found to be 91.1%, and 74% of metal chelating activity was recorded, and a similar trend was observed with respect to reducing power as well. The results of the present study lay foundation for optimization and subsequent large-scale production of Boeravinone-B from callus/cell suspension cultures

Phytochemical, pharmacological and tissue culture studies of some important species of the genus Barleria L. (Acanthaceae) - a review

Ayurvedic sciences helped the early humans to overcome chronic dangerous diseases. There are thousands of varieties of herbs and medicinal plants used to overcome such dreadful diseases. The genus Barleria L. belongs to family Acanthaceae, a medicinally significant group of plants having diversified phytochemicals used for different pharmacological properties. It has been utilized since ancient times for medicinal purposes. It has many plant secondary metabolites such as terpenes, flavonoids, lignins, alkaloids, particularly the iridoid glycosides. The secondary metabolites extracted from Barleria spp. show potential pharmacological activities viz., anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-fertility, anti-arthritic and anti-ulcer activity. In view of these, present review is focused on the phytochemistry, pharmacology and tissue culture studies of some of the important species of the genus Barleria L

In vitro regeneration from internodal explants of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) via indirect organogenesis

Organogenic callus induction and high frequency shoot regeneration were achieved from internodal explants of bitter melon. About 97.5% of internodal explants derived from 30 day old in vivo grown plants produced green, compact nodular organogenic callus in Murashige and Skoog (MS) plus Gamborg et al. (1968) (B5) medium containing 5.0 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2.0 μM thidiazuron (TDZ) after two successive transfers at 11 days interval. Adventitious shoots were produced from organogenic callus when it was transferred to MS medium supplemented with 4.0 μM TDZ, 1.5 μM 2,4-D and 0.07 mM L-glutamine with shoot induction frequency of 96.5% and regeneration of adventitious shoots from callus (48 shoots per explant). Shoot proliferation occurred when callus with emerging shoots was transferred in the same medium at an interval of 15 days. The regenerated shoots were elongated on the same medium. The elongated shoots were rooted in MS medium supplemented with 3.0 μM indole 3-butyric acid (IBA). Rooted plants were acclimatized in green-house and subsequently established in soil with a survival rate of 95%. This protocol yielded an average of 48 shoots per internodal explant after 80 days of culture.Keywords: Adventitious shoots, growth regulators, hardening, organogenic callus, Momordica charanti