Influence of age and staking on the growth and cryptolepine concentration in cultivated roots of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (Lindl.) Schlt.

Abstract

Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (Lindl.) Schlt. is a popular medicinal plant species in Ghana that is used in the treatment of malaria. Despite the heavy demand for this species, harvesting is done solely from the wild, resulting in declining populations. As part of the ongoing research to develop domestication protocols for its cultivation, a field study was conducted to develop a cropping cycle and det. the effect of staking and plant age on plant growth and active component (cryptolepine) concn. in the roots. Staking had no significant effect on root dry wt. but was important to the prodn. of seed pods possibly resulting from better flower positioning. The highest cryptolepine concn. (on av. 1.84 mg/100 mg of root material) coincided with the peak av. root dry wt. (52.8 g) at 289 days after planting (DAP), signifying the most ideal time to harvest roots. Interestingly, the cryptolepine content (1.82 mg/100 mg) in seedlings prior to the start of the expt. was comparable to the concn. found, 289 DAP (1.84 mg/100 mg). The first 105 DAP were characterized by low yields of root dry wt. (13.5 g) followed by a period of rapid growth in which the root dry wt. increased almost linearly until 289 DAP. Although, dry matter partitioned to the vines increased towards the end of the exptl. period (60%), dry matter partitioned to the roots remained fairly const. (30%) throughout the exptl. period. [on SciFinder(R)]