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Section XIV : Plant Sciences 1
YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD PROGRAMME
Optimization of Cell Culture Parameters for Increased Shoot Biomass
and its Enrichment for a Medicinal Compound, Picroside-1 in an
Endangered Herb, Picrorhiza Kurroa Royle ex Benth
Hemant Sood* and R. S. Chauhan
Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics,
Jaypee University of Information Technology,
Waknaghat, Solan-173 215 H.P.
*hemant6sood@gmail. com
Picrorhiza kurroa is an endangered medicinal herb endemic in the North-
Western Himalayas with a plethora of pharmacological properties primarily the
richest source of hepatoprotective drugs such as Picroliv, which contains
Picroside-1 as the main ingredient. As a means for the production of plant
material rich in medicinal compounds, the shoot apices of P. kurroa cultured
on a nutrient medium, MS + KN (3mg/l) + IBA (2mg/l) + sucrose 3% (w/
v) + agar-agar 0. 8% (w/v) and incubated at four temperature regimes (10±1°C,
15±1°C, 25±1°C, 30±1°C) showed that the shoot biomass yield was highest
with 3.73g fresh shoot wt. at 15±1°C compared to 2.01g and 1.33g fresh shoot
wt. in shoots formed at 25±1°C and 10±1°C, respectively. The accumulation
of Picroside-1 was maximum (2.03 mg/g fresh shoot wt.) in shoots cultured
at 15±1°C compared to 0. 12 mg/g and 1.38 mg/g in shoots formed at 25±1°C
and 10±1°C, respectively. The supplementation of nutrient medium with methyl
jasmonate resulted in four fold increase in the biosynthesis and accumulation
of Picroside-1. The current study, thus, provides a suitable alternate for in vitro
production of Picroside-1 in shoot cultures of P. kurroa so as to relieve pressure
from its natural habitat.