~ 1754 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2018; 6(3): 1754-1757 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2018; 6(3): 1754-1757 © 2018 IJCS Received: 01-03-2018 Accepted: 03-04-2018 Pushpanjali Wagh Pacific Enclave Apartment, Raghuvendra Society, opposite to My Dreamland Real Estate Office, Omkar Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India UK Khare Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Sharad Tiwari Professor and Director of Biotechnology Centre, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh, India Correspondence Pushpanjali Wagh Pacific Enclave Apartment, Raghuvendra Society, opposite to My Dreamland Real Estate Office, Omkar Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India Callogenesis and multiplication of Lepidium sativum from shoot tip explants under in vitro condition Pushpanjali Wagh, UK Khare and Sharad Tiwari Abstract An experiment was carried out to establish an efficient callus induction system and multiplication of Lepidium sativum. Among the different explants derived from leaves, root, hypocotyl and shoot tip. The best callus initiation performance was observed by shoot tip (96%). 15 media combinations of Murashige and Skoog basal media supplemented with varying concentration of cytokinin and auxin were evaluated. All media combination produced calli in varying frequencies. However, culture media combination MS5B1N (90.00%), MS5B1N (81.00%) MS3N (84.50%) was found to be most responsive for callus induction, closely followed by MS5D (78.00%). This procedure can be advantageously of extraction of active ingredient as well as developing of in vitro regeneration protocol that can use in genetic improvement of this multipurpose medicinal plant. Keywords: Lepidium sativum, shoot tip, callus induction and regeneration Introduction Medicinal plants are the most important source of life saving drugs for the majority of the world’s population. Plant tissue culture techniques offer an integrated approach for the production of standardized quality phytopharmaceuticals through mass-production of consistent plant material for physiological characterization, analysis of active ingredients and enhancement of the natural levels of valuable secondary plant products. L. sativum (Garden cress, Cruciferae) is a fast-growing, edible herb that is botanically related to watercress and mustard. L. sativum is reported to exhibit antihypertensive, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticoagulant, antirheumatic, hypoglycemic, laxative, prokinetic, antidiarrheal, and antispasmodic properties (Raheman et al., 2012) [8] . L. sativum mainly contains alkaloids, saponins, anthracene glycosides, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, flavonoids, sterols as chief photochemical constituents. Glutamic acid is the most abundant amino acid; leucine and methionine are the highest and the lowest essential amino acids respectively. In vitro propagation of L. sativum holds tremendous potential for the production of high-quality plant- based medicine (Murch et al., 2000) [4] but despite its potential therapeutic values, the plant has not received the attention it deserves. In the present investigation an attempt was made to obtain an efficient protocol for callus induction and multiplication of Lepidium sativum which is a potential Asian and African herbal medicine for primary health care. In addition, the effect of auxin/cytokinin interactions on the morphogenic response of hypocotyl, leaf, root and shoot tip explants was monitored to formulate a reliable regeneration protocol. As the plants are annual, in vitro propagules could prove fruitful as a continuous source of raw material for valuable medicinal compounds like benzylisothiocynate, benzylcyanide, and an alkaloid (lepidine), which possesses antifertility activity (Pande et al., 1999) [6] . Materials and methods Sterilization of seeds The seeds of L. sativum collected from Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur (M.P.) were soaked in Tween 20 for 20 minutes. Further sterilization was carried inside the laminar airflow chamber. The seeds were washed thoroughly with autoclaved distilled water for 15 minutes, rinsed with 70 per cent ethyl alcohol for five minutes followed by 0.1 per cent HgCl2 solution for five minutes. Treated seeds were again washed thoroughly with autoclaved