Biopotentialities of Verbesina encelioides cell cultures

Verbesina encelioides (Cav.) Benth. & Hook. fil ex Gray is regarded as ornamental garden plant and there are many reports of its use in folk medicine as analgesic, emetic, febrifuge, insecticide and anti-inflammatory. It is even used to treat cancer, gastrointestinal disturbance, skin ailments, and snake bite. The aim of present investigation is to evaluate the biosynthetic and bioefficacy potentials of the cell cultures of V. encelioides. For this purpose, cell cultures were established from seeds on MS basal medium in the absence or presence of IAA, NAA, Kn and BAP singly or in various combinations. Initiation of callus was observed after 20 days of inoculation and callus was successfully established on MS medium supplemented with 10 mg/L NAA and 0.4 mg/L Kn. The callus was whitish brown in colour and friable in nature. Various compounds viz. friedelin, epifriedelin, lupeol, α-, β-amyrin, stigmasterol, betulin and β-sitosterol have been isolated and identified using spectral studies. Different bioefficacies like antibacterial, antifungal followed by disc diffusion method and antioxidant using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were studied and compared with in vivo system.