Comparative analysis of bioactive compounds in different habitat ofCentella asiatica (L.) Urban: Application for in vitro clonal propagationof elite ecotype

Abstract

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban is a perennial herb with high utility in traditional medicines and pharmaceuticalindustries. In India the wild populations C. asiatica are overexploited at an unrestrained rate to cope up with itshigh market demands. The aim of this study was to identify potential chemotype of C. asiatica from differentgeographical region in India and optimized in vitro micropropagation protocol of the elite ecotype wasestablished for commercial purposes. Five C. asiatica accessions were collected from different geographiclocations and their active biological components were analyzed. Among these accessions total phenolic andflavonoid content combined with ascorbic acid was found to be significantly higher in CA-4 compared to otherecotypes. The free radical scavenging activity as well as reducing power of the CA-4 ecotype also corroborate thehigher phenolic content. Therefore the elite ecotype CA-4 was selected for in vitro conservation andmicropropagation. Shoot-tips explants was inoculated on Murashige and Skoog basal medium with differentconcentrations and combinations of cytokinins and auxins. Optimum multiplication was achieved on mediumcontaining 6-benzyl-aminopurine (2.0 mg L-1) and indole-3-acetic acid (0.2 mg L-1). In vitro rooting ofmultiplied individual shoots was achieved on half strength Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented withIBA (1.5 mg L-1), with a maximum of 16.4 ± 0.22 roots. These micropropagated plants were successfullyestablished in soil after hardening with 94.55% survival rate.