IN VITRO REGENERATION OF COCCINIA GRANDIS (L.) VOIGT., AN INDIGENOUS MEDICINAL PLANT OF BANGLADESH

The present study was carried out for in vitro propagation of Coccinia grandis (Curcurbitaceae), a widely used medicinal wild creeper herb of Bangladesh. The plant extract is known to possess anti-hyperglycemic, antioxidant and hypolipidemic properties. Juvenile shoot tips were collected as explants from field grown mature climbers. After surface sterilization with 0.1 % HgCl2 for 7 minutes, tips and nodes were cultured onto Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing different hormonal concentrations. Regeneration (71%) was observed when cultured in only MS medium. Highest percentage of response (81.25%) was obtained on MS medium fortified with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) at 1.5 mg/l and average shoot length was 6.45 cm. Synergism was observed through the combination of BAP and kinetin (Kn). An average of 2-3 multiple shoots formed when explants were cultured in MS medium having BAP at 1.5 mg/l and Kn at 1.0 mg/l. Shoot elongation (10.14 cm) was achieved with MS medium containing BAP (1.5 mg/l) + alpha-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 0.5 mg/l. Successful root initiation was observed when the shootlets were inoculated in ½ MS medium enriched with Indole-3-butyric acid (1.5 mg/l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l). The in vitro raised plantlets were established in earthen pot media after acclimatization and more than 70 % survival rate was observed after three weeks in field observations. This fruitful regeneration protocol would enable large scale and commercial cultivation of this indigenous medicinal herb and as well as conservation