Development of Plant Tissue Culture Profile of Dioscorea deltoidea

Dioscorea deltoidea (Dioscoreaceae), an important medicinal plant found in northwestern Himalayas and is declared as an endangered species. Nodal segment of D. deltoidea was cultured on Murashige and Skooge basal [1] medium supplemented with various concentrations of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4 -D) (0.5 – 2ppm) for induction of callus. The best response was observed from MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (1ppm). For shoot induction, MS medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of 6- benzyl adenine (6-BA) and 2,4-D were investigated. Maximum shoot proliferation was achieved at the concentration of 1 ppm of 6-BA. The developed protocol can be used for large-scale multiplication of plants. Diosgenin was extracted from cultures produced by plant tissue culture techniques and confirmed by GC-MS analysis. Quantitative estimation of diosgenin was carried out in different cultures by high performance liquid chromatography. The content of diosgenin was found to be higher in in-vitro cultures as compared to in-vivo plants. Acknowledgements. The financial support from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, India is duly acknowledged. References: [1] Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) Physiol, 15: 473 – 479.