In Vitro Regeneration of Paederia foetida: a Widely Used Medicinal Vine in Bangladesh

Paederia foetida L. (Family Rubiaceae) is a perennial climbing vine that is used by traditional medical practitioners in Bangladesh for treatment of rheumatism, intestinal disorders and liver inflammation. This herb contains iridoid glycosides, sitosterol, stigmasterol, alkaloids and volatile oils. Others have reported that this species has anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal activities, anti-oxidant effect. Since the plant has commercial demand in Bangladesh, we established a clonal propagation method to rescue it from extinction and large scale propagation as well as to promote conservation. The excised nodes from juvenile shoot apices were implanted on MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium fortified with different concentration of 6-benzylaminopuirne (BAP) following surface sterilization with 0.1% HgCl2. Highest percentage (84%) of explants proliferated on MS supplemented with BAP at 1.0 mg/l, having an average of 2.04 shoots per explant with an average length of 1.60 cm. Addition of indole-3-acetic acid (0.5 mg/l) with BAP (1.0 mg/l) showed regenerated shoots of 1.65 cm. Multiple shoots (2.53 shoots/explant) resulted as a cluster when the media was prepared with [BAP (1.0 mg/l) + kinetin (0.5 mg/l)] to observe the synergism of auxin and cytokinin. Micro-shoots, when excised and cultured on ½ MS medium enriched with indole-3-butyric acid (0.3 mg/l) showed the best root induction percentage (85%), where average root length was observed to be 1.85 cm. In vitro raised plantlets were transplanted to earthen pot media after proper hardening through gradual exposure to relative humidity and sunlight and acclimatization. The survival percentage was 90%. After 4 weeks of observation, each plant was observed to be successfully growing. This method for clonal propagation can play a role for producing plantlets in large quantities and conservation of this medicinal herb to fill the requirements of traditional medical practitioners in Bangladesh.