Salicylic Acid and Chitosan Mediated Abiotic Stress in Cell Suspension Culture of Andrographis Paniculata (burm.f.) Nees. for Andro- Grapholide Synthesis

Quantitative and qualitative improvement of rare and valuable bioactive plant products is promisingly possible using In-vitro cell culture techniques. The present investigation was conducted with the aim to elicit the synthesis of andrographolide by subjecting cultured cells of Andrographis paniculata to Salicylic acid (SA) and Chitosan mediated abiotic stress Cell suspension culture of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees. was treated with salicylic acid and chitosan at late exponential phase. The results were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography technique. The suspension culture was treated with 0.05mM, 0.5mM and 1.5mM concentrations of salicylic acid for 24, 48 and 72 hrs of treatment duration. The treatment of chitosan was administered to the cell suspension of Andrographis paniculata with the concentrations of 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg per 50 ml of suspension culture and each concentration was studied for 24, 48 and 96 hrs of treatment duration. The results revealed that salicylic acid (0.05 mM) for 24 hrs of treatment duration showed as maximum as 18.5 fold increment in andrographolide content (37.0 μg/g).. The chitosan treatment with 20 mg for 48 hrs duration explored highest elicitation of andrographolide (119.0 μg/g, 59.5 fold) compared to the respective control and rest of the treatments. Chitosan mediated elicitation treatment was superior over the treatments of salicylic acid. INTRODUCTION: Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees. is a well-known ancient medicinal herb with an extensive ethnobotanical history in Asia. It is commonly known as ‘Kalmegh or King of Bitters’ in India and Nepal. It belongs to the family Acanthaceae. The plant A. paniculata is used prominently in about 26 Ayurvedic formulations 1 . It has been used traditionally as antidote in case of colic dysentry and dyspepsia 2 .