Abstract

Falcaria vulgaris is an important medicinal plant belonging to the family Apiaceae. The leaf of explants of this plant was cultured for callus induction and plant regeneration. The explants of this plant were cultured onto Murashig and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of (alpha)-naphtalene acetic acid (NAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), thidiazuron (TDZ), alone and in combination with 6- benzyladenine (BA) for callus induction. The highest callus was induced in medium containing (0.5 and 1.0 mg L^-1) 2,4-D in combination with BA. These callus and leaf segments were transferred to MS medium supplemented with different combination of NAA and BA for indirect and direct regeneration, respectively. The medium containing (1.0 mg L^-1) NAA in combination with (0.5 and 1.0 mg L^-1) BA showed the highest number of shoot and root formation in plant regeneration through the callus. In direct regeneration, NAA with 1.0 mg L^-1 concentration was observed to be more potent than with concentration of 0.5 mg L^-1 and showed highest root regeneration frequency (15.7%). In vitro raised plantlets were acclimatized onto natural condition with 90% survival. These results provide a basis for future studies on genetic improvement and could be applied to production of secondary metabolites through cell culture in Falcaria vulgaris.

Key words: Falcaria vulgaris, plant growth regulators, callus induction, in vitro propagation, direct regeneration.