Home
Resources
Publications
Reproduction of the Medicinal Plant Pelargonium Sidoides via Somatic Embryogenesis

Reproduction of the Medicinal Plant Pelargonium Sidoides via Somatic Embryogenesis

Stefanie Duchow, Wolfgang Blaschek, Birgit Classen

Planta Med. 2015 Aug;81(12-13):1169-74.

PMID: 26287694

Abstract:

The medicinal plant Pelargonium sidoides DC. (Geraniaceae) was traditionally used for the treatment of the common cold and cough in South Africa. Today an aequous-ethanolic root extract from this plant is approved for the treatment of acute bronchitis and is globally marketed also as an immunostimulant. The increasing demand of the plant material for the industrial production indicates the need of new effective methods for the propagation of P. sidoides. Here we report somatic embryogenesis and in vitro plantlet regeneration from somatic cells of inflorescence shoots and petioles of P. sidoides. A one-week cultivation of explants in media containing different concentrations of thidiazuron (1, 2.2, 3, and 4 mg/L) followed by a cultivation period without phytohormones resulted in the induction of somatic embryos within 2-4 weeks. After 2-4 months, the embryos generated roots and could be transferred into a greenhouse, where flower formation took place and the development of seeds occurred with high germination rates. The root umckalin concentration, determined by high-performance thin-layer chromatography, was comparable to that of seed-cultivated plants (100 ± 6 vs. 113 ± 10 µg umckalin/g dried roots). For the first time, direct somatic embryogenesis has been established as an appropriate cultivation method for P. sidoides plants used as raw material in the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, genetically identical plants (chemical races) can be easily generated by this procedure.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number	Product Name	Structure	CAS Number	Price
AP43053629	Umckalin		43053-62-9	Price

As a specialist in analytical chemical Products, Alfa Chemistry offers consumers a wealth of raw materials and a full range of technologies and services.

QUICK LINKS

HEADQUARTERS

Tel:

Fax:

Email: