Normal and genetically transformed tissue cultures of Calotropis procera (Ait) R.Br. for production of secondary metabolites

Calotropis procera (Ait) R.Br (Family: Asclepiadaceae), is an important medicinal plant, described in traditional system of medicines, viz., Ayurveda and Unani has been used in treatment of various ailments. Present investigation provides a detailed insight on the development of normal callus, suspension and morphogenetic as well as genetically transformed cultures of C. procera and was further examined for the presence of phenolics and flavonoids by spectrophotometric methods. Results obtained suggested that MS medium supplemented with 6-BA (0.5 ppm) + 2, 4-D (2.0 ppm) was the most suitable combination for the development of independent calli of leaf and stem. Co-cultivation with A. tumefaciens (MTCC 2250) for 15 min was found to be quite effective for the crown gall formation whereas incubation of in vitro raised shoots for 30 min with A. rhizogenese (MTCC 2364), resulted in hairy roots from the leafy explants of the plant. Preliminary phytochemical screening of in vitro cultures showed the presence of almost all the phytoconstituents similar to that of natural plant with significant amou nt of phenolics and flavonoids in leaf callus, followed by crown galls led to conclude that in vitro culture produce secondary metabolites similar to natural plant and, hence, these cultures can be used as an alternative source of medicines.