Artemisinin, currently used in malaria treatment therapy, is produced in Artemisia annua L. Conventionally, A. annua is propagated via seeds which result in variation in plant quality and production of artemisinin content. Various in vitro culture techniques have been used for production of A. annua plantlets. In the present study, somatic embryogenesis protocol was successfully established for A. annua of Highland clone of Vietnam origin. Somatic embryos of A. annua could be induced from the leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mgL-1 BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) and 0.5 mgL-1 NAA (1-napthaleneacetic acid), 3% sucrose and 0.5 mgL-1 casein hydrolysate (CH). Proliferation of embryogenic calli was enhanced in MS medium added with 0.1- 2.0 mgL-1 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid (2, 4-D) and 0.5 mgL-1 casein hydrolysate (CH). The somatic embryos after culturing onto MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mgL-1 BAP developed into shoots. Plantlets were then generated after rooting the micro-shoots in MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mgL-1 IBA. The somatic embryos derived plantlets produced flowers and bore fruits and seeds two months earlier in tropical climates as compared to cool environment. Keywords: artemisinin, somatic embryos, embryogenic callus, leaf explant
