Effect of plant growth regulators on in vitro induction and maintenance of callus from leaf and root explants of Atropa acuminata Royal ex Lindl

Atropa acuminata, an important medicinal plant belonging to family Solanaceae is under tremendous threat of extinction in its natural habitat due to the overexploitation by pharmaceutical industries. Present study is an attempt of establishing callus cultures of this important medicinal plant as callus has considerable potential as an alternative for production of secondary metabolites for industrial use, hence reducing pressure on natural populations. Callus cultures were established from leaf and root explants of Atropa acuminate. Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing different concentration and combinations of 6-Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP), Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA), Kinetin (Kn) and 2,4- Dichloropheoxyacetic acid (2,4- D) were used for callus induction. Different phytohormonal combinations resulted in different types and degrees of callus. The combination of BAP and NAA on MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP in combination with 1.0 mg/l NAA, was found to be the most efficient for in vitro callus development from root explants and from leaf explants most effective combination and concentration was 1 mg/l of both BAP and NAA. The maximum mean fresh weight of callus formed using root explants was 33.13 mg per explant and maximum fresh weight obtained from leaf explants was 22.14 mg per explants.