Micropropagation of Buddleja cordata and the content of verbascoside and total phenols with antioxidant activity of the regenerated plantlets

Abstract

Buddleja cordata is a medicinal plant distributed in Mexican territory that is characterized for producing phenolic compounds possessing antioxidant activity. It was evaluated the type of morphogenetic responses induced by plant growth regulators. Furthermore, the content of verbascoside and total phenols was determined, as well as the antioxidant activity in regenerated plantlets. The greatest shoot proliferation (29.2 shoots per explant) was achieved in the stem-nodes that were grown in a half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium containing 4.44 µM N6-benzyladenine. The greatest shoot heights of 4.3 and 4.7 cm (statistically not different) were obtained with gibberellic acid at 4.34 and 8.67 µM, respectively. The highest percentage of rooting (89.4%) occurred with 2.45 µM indole-3-butyric acid with 20.3 roots per shoot and an average root length of 4.4 cm. Of the rooted shoots, 91.7% were able to survive after 30 days of acclimatization. The verbascoside (1.0 mg g-1) and total phenols (24.8 mg of gallic acid equivalents g-1) content was related to antioxidant activity of the regenerated plantlets. The micropropagation of B. cordata might represent an alternative about massive production and depict the basis of the establishment of commercial crops and genetic studies.