EXPLOITATION OF PLANT EXTRACTS (STEM AND ROOT) OF MICROPROPAGATED BACOPA MONNIERI : ANTIMYCOTIC POTENTIAL

Bacopa monnieri is commonly called as brahmi or jal brahmi in India. Brahmi is a non-aromatic herb Brahmi is considered as the herb played a very important role in Ayurvedic medicine. It is found easily India, Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia. Bacopa monnieri (L) belongs to the family Scrophulariaceae is an amphibious plant of tropical and normally found growing on the banks of the rivers and lakes. It is commonly called as brahmi or jal brahmi in India. Brahmi is considered as the main rejuvenating herb played a very important role in Ayurvedic therapies. It also has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, epilepsy, anticancer, antioxidant activities and recently antimycotic preoperty has been reported. The micro propagation protocol of the medicinally important plant Bacopa monnieri was standardized using nodal segments as explants. They were surface sterilized with HgCl2 (0.1%) for 3 minutes prior to inoculation on MS media supplemented with BAP (0.5- 2.5 mg/l); IAA (0.1-0.5 mg/l for shooting,1.0-1.5 mg/l for rooting); NAA (0.1- 0.5 mg/l for shooting, 1.0-1.5 mg/l for rooting). The best performance for shoot multiplication was showed in MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l IAA. In this combination the number of shoots per explant was 16 and average length of shoot 5.54 ± 0.54 cm. But when different concentrations of NAA were applied along with 1.5 mg/l BAP the number of shoots per explant was 14 and average shoot length was 3.46 ± 0.43 on media. For root induction, best rooting was observed with half strength of MS medium supplemented with IAA (1.0 mg/l). In this combination, it was observed that the number of roots was 12 and average root length of 2.80 ± 0.09. The present study is a stepping stone for in vitro production of required active principles of Bacopa monnieri.