Abstract

The potential mutagenic effect of sodium azide (NaN₃) was studied on seeds and callus of Artemisia annua for enhancement of artimisinin. The treated and untreated seeds were germinated with half MS liquid medium and the leaves (two-weeks-old) were employed to raise callus on full strength of medium containing α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and kinetin (each 0.5 mg/L). The mutant calluses were obtained from normal callus and foliage leaves of germinated treated seeds with 1 - 5 mM, NaN₃. Artimisinin content was estimated in all mutant calluses withhigh-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and all showed increased level of this compound as compared to those normal calluses. The mutant calluses obtained from foliage leaves of germinated seeds had low content of this compound as compared to those calluses which developed from normal callus with NaN₃ treatment. In all mutant calluses obtained from normal calluses and foliage leaves of treated seeds, the maximum artimisinin was found in T3 and T8, and occurred at 3 mM, NaN₃ as compared to normal ones. Thus, sodium azide is a potent mutagen for enhancement of artemisinin and can be used as an alternative for its in vitro production.

Key words: Artemisia annua, anti-malarial drug, artimisinin, medicinal plant.