In Vitro Micropropagation of the Medicinal Plant Physalis angulata L.
Physalis angulata L. is an important medicinal herb. An efficient direct adventitious plant regeneration protocol was developed for large scale propagation using leaf disc as explants. The explants were cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 0.25-3.0 mg/L 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP) for primary shoot proliferation. Inclusion of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA3) in the culture medium along with BAP promoted a higher rate of shoot multiplication. The maximum number of shoots was produced in MS + BAP (1.0 mg/L) + IAA (0.5 mg/L) + GA3 (0.20 mg/L) after the third subculture. An average of 152.8 ± 0.40 shoots were produced from each leaf disc. For root induction the shootlets were transferred to MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The highest percentage of root induction was observed in 1.0 mg/L (IBA). Rooted plants were successfully established in the soil after hardening. The survival percentage of rooted plants on soil was found to be 85%. This result will facilitate the conservation and propagation of the important medicinal herb Physalis angulata L.