An efficient plant regeneration protocol has been developed from embryogenic callus derived from cotyledonary explants of Clitoria ternatea Linn., an important medicinal climber species. Optimum embryogenic callus (75 %) was induced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2 mg/l 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D). On subculturing the callus on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.5 mg/l α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 61 % of cultures responded with a mean number of 22 somatic embryos per gram callus at different stages of development after 45 days of culture. The addition of higher concentrations of sucrose and abscisic acid (ABA) significantly increased the embryogenic response. MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l BA, 0.2 mg/l NAA and 4 % of sucrose resulted in 76 % of cultures responding with a mean number of 28 embryos per one gram callus. The highest embryogenic response, frequency of 83 % and mean number of 37 embryos per gram callus, was observed when the MS medium was supplemented with 2 mg/l BA, 0.2 mg/l NAA, and 3 mg/l ABA. Synthetic seeds were produced by encapsulating embryos in calcium alginate gel. The gel contained MS medium with 3 % of sucrose, 1.0 mg/l BA and 0.2 mg/l NAA. The synthetic seeds germinated on MS medium supplemented with BA (1.0-4.0 mg/l) alone or in combination with NAA (0.1–0.7 mg/l) or indole-3-butyric acid (IBA; 0.1–0.7 mg/l). The highest synthetic seed germination (92 %) was observed on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l BA and 0.5 mg/l NAA. The synthetic seeds were stored at 4 °C and lab conditions (25 ± 2 °C) up to 5 months. The synthetic seeds kept at 4 °C showed 86 % viability even after 5 months of storage. Both somatic embryos and synthetic seeds germinated and were transferred to soil successfully.

High frequency somatic embryogenesis and synthetic seed production in Clitoria ternatea Linn

A new, simple, sensitive, selective and precise HPTLC method has been developed for the determination of taraxerol in Clitoria ternatea L. Determination of taraxerol was performed on TLC aluminium plates. Linear ascending development was carried out in twin trough glass chamber saturated with hexane and ethyl acetate (80:20 v/v). The plate was then dried and sprayed with anisaldehyde reagent. A Camag TLC scanner III was used for spectrodensitometric scanning and analysis at 420 nm. The system was found to give compact spots for taraxerol (Rf 0.53). The calibration plot was linear in the range of 100–1200 ng of taraxerol. The correlation coefficient of 0.9961 was indicative of good linear dependence of peak area on concentration. The concentration of taraxerol was found to be 12.4 mg/g w/w in the hydroalcoholic extract of C. ternatea root. To study the accuracy and precision of the method, recovery studies were performed. Recovery values from 99.65 to 99.74% showed excellent reliability and reproducibility of the method. The limits of detection and quantification were determined to be 31 and 105 ng/spot, respectively. The proposed HPTLC method for quantitative monitoring of taraxerol in C. ternatea can be used for routine quality testing of C. ternatea extract used in Ayurvedic formulations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Validation of HPTLC method for the analysis of taraxerol in Clitoria ternatea.

Independent transformed root somaclones (rhizoclones) of butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) were established using explant co-cultivation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Rhizoclones capable of sustained growth were maintained under low illumination in auxin-free agar-solidified MS medium through subcultures at periodic intervals. Integration of T
 L
 -DNA rolB gene in the transformed rhizoclone genome was verified by Southern blot hybridization, and the transcript expression of T
 R
 -DNA ags and man2 genes was ascertained by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis. The major compound isolated and purified from the transformed root extracts was identified as the pentacyclic triterpenoid compound taraxerol using IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The taraxerol yield in cultured hairy roots, as quantified by HPTLC analysis, was up to 4-fold on dry weight basis compared to that in natural roots. Scanning of bands from cultured transformed roots and natural roots gave super-imposable spectra with standard taraxerol, suggesting a remarkable homology in composition. To date, this is the first report claiming production of the cancer therapeutic phytochemical taraxerol in genetically transformed root cultures as a viable alternative to in vivo roots of naturally occurring plant species.

Production of Triterpenoid Anti-cancer Compound Taraxerol in Agrobacterium-Transformed Root Cultures of Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea L.)

There has been growing interest in the use of bioresource waste for natural dyeing and finishing. This paper discusses dye extraction from the novel source fruit shell waste of Sterculia foetida and its application on mulberry silk fabric to confer aesthetic coloration and wellness properties such as ultra-violet (UV) protection and antibacterial properties. Treated fabrics showed a substantial increase in color depth and adequate wash, light, and rubbing fastness properties for dyed silk fabrics with and without mordanting. Pre-and post-mordanting of silk fabrics were carried out using mordants such as alum, harda (myrobalan), and copper sulfate. UV-visible spectrophotometric analysis of fruit shell extract (FSE) at different pHs and FSE with three different mordants at neutral pH was used to understand the phenomena of dye-fiber interaction. The treated fabrics characterised by ATR-FTIR, SEM-EDS, and XRD analysis indicate the nature of dye fiber interaction justifying the multifunctional properties. The treated fabric also showed very good ultraviolet protection property and antibacterial properties both against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria even after ten washes. The results indicate that Sterculia foetida fruit shell extract offers an excellent potential as coloration, antibacterial, and ultraviolet protective agent for mulberry silk fabric.

Application of Sterculia Foetida Fruit Shell Waste Biomolecules on Silk for Aesthetic and Wellness Properties

Optimization of methyl jasmonate and β-cyclodextrin for enhanced production of taraxerol and taraxasterol in (Taraxacum officinale Weber) cultures.

Taraxer-14-en-3β-ol (1) was shown to be the active ingredient in the leaves of Sterculia foetida L. The alcohol 1, its acetate and ketone showed anti-inflammatory activity against TPA induced mouse ear oedema with inhibition ratios of 60.0, 58.57 and 40.57 at 0.5 mg/ear, respectively. The percentage inhibition of inflammation increased with dose for each compound.

A. V. Misar

Papers

Taraxer-14-en-3β-ol, an anti-inflammatory compound from Sterculia foetida L.

CNS Depressant and Analgesic Activity of a Fraction Isolated from an Ethanol Extract ofCurcuma amadaRhizomes