MICROPROPAGATION OF ENDOD (Phytolacca dodecandra) L ′Herit THROUGH LEAF CULTURE

Endod (Phytolacca dodecandra L’Heit var. E-44 and E-17) is medicinal plant of high saponin content used as molluscicide to control Schistosomiasis. The aim of, this study was to develop a micropropagation protocol for P.dodecandra. The E17 and E44 variety leaf explant was sterilized and cultured on MS media supplemented with different types of concentration and combination of cytokinins and auxins for shoot initiation, multiplication and root initiation. Local bleach (Berekina) 3% concentrationand exposure of 5 min gave high percentage (72%) of survived explant for E17 variety followed by 3% concentration of local bleach (Berekina) and exposure of 5 min (76.60%) for E44 variety. The combination of 1.5 mg/L BAP and 1.0 mg/L NAA was found to be an optimum concentration for shoot initiation of E17 variety yielding (93.20%) and 1.5 mg/L BAP and 1.0 mg/L NAA for E44 variety explant yielding (87.25%). The combination of 2.0 mg/L of Kinetin, 1.0 mg/L BAP and 0.5 mg/L NAA was found to be optimum concentration, yielding 8.4% shoot number and, 5.0% length for E44 variety, and the combination of 2.0 mg/L of Kinetin, 1.0 mg/L BAP and 0.5 mg/L NAA was found to be optimum concentration, yielding 9.5% shoot number and 6.20% shoot lengthfrom E17 variety. The concentration of 2.0 mg/L IBA was found to be optimum, yielding (96.70%) rooting percentage and, (10.61%) root number and the concentration of 1.5 mg/L NAA was found to be optimum (5 cm) of root length. Results of acclimatization experiment showed that the decomposed coffee husk + soil + red soil in a ratio of 2:2:1 was found to be an optimum, yielding 83.33% and 100% of plantlets were survived under greenhouse condition transferring on polyethylene plastic box for E17 and E44 varieties of P. dodecandra, respectively. This developed micropropagation protocol highly significant for large scale propagation of this species as source saponin extraction for drug development against endemic Schistosomiasis.