Active ingredients under Ex-situ and In-vitro conditions of Rauwolfia Serpentina L. and Vinca minor L.

Callus was induced from Rauwolfia serpentina L. and Vinca minor L. using different concentrations of growth hormones. The best response for R. serpentina was obtained in MS medium, supplemented with 2, 4-D (2.0 mg/L)and BAP (1.0 mg/L). MS media supplemented with BAP (14 mg/L) and NAA (3 mg/L) was best for inducing callus in V. minor. The highest DPPH scavenging activity was observed in the ethanolic extracts of the leaves, found out to be 80.5 and 56.8 in R. serpentina and V. minor respectively. The total flavonoids content for R. serpentina and V. minor was found to be 15.0 mg QE/g extract and 7.37 mg QE/g extract respectively. In TLC, the best solvent system used for separation of alkaloids in R. serpentina was Ethyl acetate: Methanol: Water (70:20:10) as well as Ethyl Acetate: Methanol (90:10) for V. minor. Toluene: Chloroform: Ethanol (8.5:57:14.5) showed the best separation of flavonoids. Thin layer chromatography revealed the presence of major alkaloids such as reserpinine, ajmaline, monovincine, resperine.