PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Alpinia officinarum (lesser galangal) belonging to the family Zingiberaceae is an important aromatic perennial herb distributed widely in India, China and Asia. Alpinia officinarum is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for cancer therapeutic purposes and it provides the essential raw material for many ayurvedic preparations. The demand for Alpinia officinarum is constantly on the rise, however, the supply is rather erratic and inadequate. Micropropagation has become a reliable and routine approach for large-scale multiplication of important medicinal plant. The present study describes the development of an efficient protocol for rapid plant propagation from rhizome explants of Alpinia. The young rhizome explants cultured on MS medium augmented with different concentrations of BAP/ KIN ranging from 1.0 to 3.0 mg/l and BAP (1.0-5.0 mg/l) in combination with 0.5 mg/l KIN for shoot bud induction. The highest frequency of multiple shoot formation was noticed on medium containing 3.0 mg/l BAP as well as the combination of BAP (5.0 mg/l) and KIN (0.5 mg/l) after 4 weeks of culture. Higher BAP concentration induced an increase in the number of shoots/ per explant. Multiple shoots were transferred to MS medium supplemented with 2.0 BAP for shoot elongation. For root initiation, elongated shoots were excised and planted individually on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of NAA (0.5-2.0) mg/l. These shoots produced profuse roots within 3 weeks of culture. Rooted plantlets were thoroughly washed in running tap water to remove the adhering gel and transplanted in plastic cups containing a mixture of soil, sand and farmyard mixture in the ratio of 1:1:1 and kept in the green house for acclimatization. The present regeneration protocol would be useful for large scale propagation of this important medicinal plant.