Abstract
Picrorhiza kurrooa Royel ex. Benth. is an important medicinal plant of Himalayan region and a good source of iridoid glycosides. Picrotin and picrotoxinin are compounds produced by P. kurrooa which are widely used in treatment of hepatic diseases. Elicitation is one of the best effective methods which enhance secondary metabolite production in plants. In the present study effect of elicitors for example, Methyl jasmonate (100 µM) and yeast extract (0.5 mg/ml) on the production of picrotin and picrotoxinin from in-vitro products of P. kurrooa were studied. Yeast extract (0.5 mg/ml) was found more efficient than the methyl jasmonate for enhancing the production of picrotin and picrotoxinin in roots of P. kurrooa. Higher amount of picrotin (2.47 µg/g dry wt.) and picrotoxinin (45.2 µg/g dry wt.) were recorded in in-vitro products in comparison to control plant. Genetically stable in vitro plants were used to assess the effect of elicitation. Genetic stability was detected with Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. The percentage of polymorphic bands in the RAPD and ISSR analysis were 2.5 and 7.02%, respectively. The similarity coefficient revealed that differences between tissue culture raised plants and mother plant was not remarkable by both RAPD and ISSR analysis.
Key words: Genetic fidelity, plant tissue culture, inter simple sequence repeats, West Himalaya.
