www.ejbps.com Minoo et al. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 458 AN EFFICIENT IN VITRO PROPAGATION PROTOCOL FOR MORINDA CITRIFOLIA L., AN IMPORTANT MEDICINAL PLANT Saranya Babu Jayaprakash C. M. 1 , Minoo Divakaran 2 *, Madhusoodanan P.V. 1 and Prakashkumar R. 1 1 Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, PB. No.1, Calicut-673014, Kerala, India. 2 Providence Women’s College, Calicut - 673009, Kerala, India. Article Received on 11/09/2017 Article Revised on 01/10/2017 Article Accepted on 21/10/2017 INTRODUCTION The traditional folk medicinal plant Morinda citrifolia L., is popularly known as Noni or Indian Mulberry grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is an ever green medium sized tree (3-10 m) bearing flowers and fruits throughout the year belongs to the family Rubiaceae. Due to the increasing demand in pharmaceutical industry, wild populations of this species are becoming increasingly scarce and without any pre- treatment the seeds of this plant show a low germination percentage because of the presence of extremely tough cellulose layers on the seed coat (Nelson 2005). The antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, antidiabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immune enhancing activity of M. citrifolia have already been reported (Wang et al. 2002; Mathivanan et al. 2006; Surendiran et al. 2006). All the plant parts are used in the treatment of various diseases and disorders. The fruits of Morinda have a history of use in the pharmacopoeias of Pacific Islands and South East Asia (Morton 1992). It has more than 150 neutraceuticals, several vitamins, minerals, micro and macro nutrients that help the body in different ways from cellular level to organ level. The major micronutrients identified in Noni plant are phenolic compounds, organic acids and alkaloids (Wang and Su 2001). Ascorbic acid (Morton 1992; Shovic and Whistler 2001) and provitamin A (Dixon et al. 1999) are the vitamins reported in the fruit. The global popularity of Noni has increased dramatically in the past decade (Dixon et al. 1999; Clatchey 2002). The main objective of this study was (i) to develop an efficient micropropagation method, (ii) to study the effect of growth regulators and medium strength on propagation and rooting, (iii) to provide a reliable source of M. citrifolia plants to replenish declining population in the wild and to make use in pharmaceutical industry and (iv) production of artificial seeds from nodal and shoot tip explants for medium term conservation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seeds of M. citrifolia were collected from a tree (4-6 years) growing in Kozhikode district of Kerala (India). The fruit of M. citrifolia is oval and fleshy and its colour ranges from green to yellow. The seeds taken from ripened fruit were surface sterilized with a few drops of Tween-20 and 1% (v/v) HgCl 2 for 15 min and then washed three times in sterile water. The seeds were germinated in test tubes containing 10 ml MS basal medium (Murashige and Skoog 1962) supplemented with 3% (w/v) sucrose (Hi media, India) and 0.6% (w/v) agar-agar (Hi media, India). The pH of SJIF Impact Factor 4.382 Research Article ejbps, 2017, Volume 4, Issue 11 458-463. European Journal of Biomedical AND Pharmaceutical sciences http://www.ejbps.com ISSN 2349-8870 Volume: 4 Issue: 11 458-463 Year: 2017 *Corresponding Author: Minoo Divakaran Providence Women’s College, Calicut- 673009, Kerala, India. ABSTRACT An efficient protocol was developed for in vitro propagation of Morinda citrifolia L., a traditional folk medicinal tree with pharmacological value and low seed germination capacity. A source of several phytochemicals and potent anti-microbial activities, development of a micropropagation protocol, will serve as a tool for exploiting the production of phytochemicals in vitro. The effect of different concentrations of plant growth regulators such as cytokinins (BAP and Kinetin) on shoot proliferation and auxins (IBA and NAA) and different strength of MS medium (Full, ½ and ¼ MS) on rooting were investigated. Cytokinin BAP promoted shoot proliferation more favourably than kinetin. Endogenous auxin levels indicated that rooting was induced without the exogenous supply of growth regulators and quarter strength MS basal media was sufficient for rooting of microshoots. Hardening and acclimatization of the plantlets were successfully with over 96%, exhibiting normal development. Synthetic seeds of M. citrifolia were also produced using nodal segments and shoot tips with sodium alginate, as a method for germplasm conservation. KEYWORDS: Synthetic seeds, In vitro regeneration, Noni, plant growth regulators, rhizogenesis.