mucilage production in tissue culture of plantago lanceolata

leaf and root explants from 10 to 20 day– old seedlings of plantago lanceolata, were cultured on ms, msh, nt and b5 basal media with various concentrations of different plant growth regulators. the best callus induction was obtained with 0.4 mgl-1 2,4-d in msh i with 400 callus index. callus growth was significantly stimulated (p=0.05)with 0.8 mgl-1 2,4-d and 0.1 mgl-1 kin in msh ii, with 799 mg fresh weight and 79 mg dry weight. a higher production of mucilage was obtained in msh ii. the mucilage content of different media varied from 10.40 to 14.73% dry weight. perusal of the data reveals significant differences with regard to the total mucilage content. callus has nearly 3 times and 1.5 times more mucilage than seeds and leaf and root parts respectively.