Investigating the effect of antioxidant compounds and various concentrations of BAP and NAA on the improvement of in vitro stem and root formation of Nepeta binaloudensis Jamzad

Nepeta binaloudensis Jamzad is a medicinal plant endemic to Iran. It is an endangered plant due to habitat destruction and intensive harvest. We investigated the effect of antioxidants and different concentrations of BAP and NAA on in vitro stem and root formation of N. binaloudensis. Stem explants were cultured in ½ MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mg/L) and different concentrations of ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione. The effect of different concentrations of BAP on the regeneration of this plant was then evaluated. Moreover, root formation of regenerated stems was investigated in the ½ MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of NAA. The results showed that the combination of antioxidants in ½ MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mg/L) had a significant effect on regeneration in vitro culture. The reduced-glutathione (2 μM/ L) in comparison with other antioxidant treatments increased the stem regeneration in explants. The levels of BAP hormone (1 and 1.5 mg/L) had a significant (p-value<0.05) effect on the stem regeneration rate and the number of produced branches. The NAA (2 mg/L) increased root formation and root height average. We recommend the use of these treatments for in vitro propagation of this endangered plant.