In vitro plant regeneration from nodal segments of the alpine wormwood Artemisia eriantha Ten. (Asteraceae)

In this study, a plant regeneration system has been established for an endangered species, Artemisia eriantha Ten. (Asteraceae). To improve the micropropagation efficiency, frequency of shoot induction, elongation and rooting from nodal explants (plantlets yield), different growth regulators combinations (culture conditions) have been experienced. In different variants of Murashige-Skoog (MS) culture medium, with 3% (w/v) sucrose and 500 mg L-1 CaCO3 supplemented medium, rooting shoots and hardened plantlets were produced. MS medium containing 1.8 mg L-1 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.2 mg L-1 kinetin was the optimum concentration for shoot induction. Obtained shoots elongated best on MS medium with 1.0 mg L-1 BAP, 3.0 mg L-1 gibberellic acid (GA3) and rooted in half - strenght MS medium at 0.1 mg L-1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at rate of 65%. Antioxidant activity with total phenolic and flavonoid content was screened. The maxim value of the total phenolic content (55.65 µg GAE/g) and the highest value of total flavonoids (128.07 µg ERU/g) show that the rate of these compounds in vitro plantlets is reduced comparing with the wild plants.