Author : K. S. Swathia, M.V.S.S. Manjari, Ravishankar Prarthana , Rao Sahana and Bhat Savithri

Withania somnifera commonly known as Ashwagandha is being used as neurotonic for anxiety and neurological disorders. Conventional propagation of Withania through seeds limits the seed setting and results in variations in withanolides production. In the present study, we report differentiation of somatic embryos from nodulated embryogenic callus of leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with N6-benzylaminopurine (4 mg /l) and IAA (2mg/l) in the absence of exogenous calcium. The microscopic details of embryogenic calli upon staining with toluidine blue showed differentiation of calli into pro embryos , globular and heart shaped embryos. Both, TLC and HPLC analysis revealed increase in withaferin A content in methanolic extracts of these embryos. In-vitro propagation of Withania somnifera via somatic embryogenesis provides solution for its extinction and reduces the variations in withanolide content amongst Withania plants.

Keywords: Ashwagandha, somatic embryogenesis, withaferin A, calcium stress, neurodegeneration

Article published in the Proceedings of National Conference on ‘Women in Science & Engineering’ (NCWSE 2013), SDMCET Dharwad