Induction of anthocyanin pigment in callus cultures of Solanum melongena L. in response to plant growth regulators and light

Anthocyanins are natural pigments which have various health benefits and are potential candidate for use in the pharmaceutical industries. The fruits and vegetables containing anthocyanins have proved to be beneficial for humans due to their antioxidant activity. For the present study purple brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is selected as the anthocyanin source. The type of anthocyanins in the peels of this vegetable has been determined as nasunin which is identified as delphinidin-3(p-coumaroylrutinoside)-5-glucoside. The present study attempts to produce pigmented callus from in vitro grown seedlings of purple brinjal as explants. Various combinations of phytohormones were added to the culture media and the induction of pigmented callus was studied. The effect of light intensity was also considered. The best results were recorded when Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) at 1 mg L was used with Kinetin at 0.25 and 0.1 mg L , at a light intensity of 4000 lux. The total anthocyanin accumulation in the pigmented callus was calculated as 70 μg g. This type of study in S. melongena is being reported for the first time to the best of our knowledge.