Optimisation of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) in vitro micropropagation

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) is a well-known medicinal and aromatic plant, used notably for the production of famous aperitif drinks. Today, a large-scale clonal production of selected genotypes, for genetics studies (p.e. heritability of phytochemical profiles) or breeding programs, is justified.

In order to readily provide researchers and producers with healthy and genetically homogeneous plants at rational cost, optimisation of in vitro culture parameters is necessary. Presently, the in vitro conservation and propagation of wormwood is partially documented, but a great disparity of methods, with very variable results – propagation rate, physiological problems, efficiency – are reported.

Today, we can propose an optimised protocol for the in vitro micropropagation of the species. Disinfecting explants with sodium hypochlorite (2%) for 10 min, followed by three rinses with ascorbic acid solution (1 g/L), gives the best disinfection/recovery ratio. Highest proliferation rates are obtained with medium containing BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine), Kinetin, NAA (1-Naphthaleneacetic acid) (0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 mg/L respectively) and a full dose of MS (Murashige and Skoog’s medium). This media also reduces hyperhydricity problems by 50% when the MS concentration is decreased by a quarter. The most efficient rooting medium is hormone-free and contains half a dose of MS. It allows us to obtain 96% well rooted explants in 27 days. New bioassays are planned to investigate links between MS or (D+)-saccharose concentrations and hyperhydricity occurrence. GC-MS (Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry) analysis is also planned in order to document secondary metabolite variations in vitro.

 

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023