Diosgenin Synthesis in Shoot Cultures of Dioscorea composita

Abstract

Shoot cultures were established from the stem nodes of the plant Dioscorea composita on revised Murashige and Skoogs medium supplemented with benzyladenine (BA). The morphogenetic and biosynthetic responses of the shoot cultures varied significantly when subjected to the influence of different levels of BA. Medium supplemented with 0.5 ppm of BA was optimum for multiple shoot-bud formation and diosgenin synthesis. The diosgenin content of these cultures was 72 % of the in vivo shoots. mass of cell cultures and they are not as amenable to exogenous and environmental factors as cell cultures. A recent study of Digitalis lanta suggests that organ cultures may be efficiently used to produce secondary products [2]. The present communication concerns the establishment of shoot cultures of Dioscorea composita and their ability to synthesize diosgenin.

Key Word Index

Dioscorea composita - Dioscoreaceae - Shoot Culture - Diosgenin.