Development of an effective protocol for In vitro propagation of Centella asiatica L.

Centella asiatica L. (Brahmi) is a widely recognized medicinal herb of Asian subcontinent especially in Ayurvedic medicines as a brain tonic. Increased demand of this herb has resulted in overexploitation and gradual reduction of its natural habitat. Centella asiatica is under threat of extinction due to unscientific management and conservation of the herb. Under such situation in vitro propagation can promote rapid multiplication as well as conservation. The shoot tips or apical buds of runners were used as explants and were sterilized with 0.1% HgCl₂ for 6 minutes and inoculation was done on Murashige and Skoog basal medium having varying concentrations of 6-Benzyl amino purine, Kinetin and Naphthalene acetic acid. Maximum sprouting percent of explants (97.2) was observed in presence of BAP (3.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l) within one week of culture. Increase in BAP concentration enhanced the average number of shoots/explant along with huge callus mass at the base which demanded repeated subculturing. Therefore, concentration of NAA was reduced to 0.1 mg/l in multiplication medium. Rooting of in vitro shoots occurred within 16 days on MS medium augmented with Indole butyric acid (1.5 mg/l) and activated charcoal. The survival percent of plantlets in field after acclimatization and hardening was 75%. The protocol developed can be useful for mass production of genetically uniform material.