Effects of BA and NAA on Seed Germination and in vitro Shoot Growth of Phuang Chawa (Codonopsis javanica (Blume) Hook.f. & Thomson)

Abstract

Phuang Chawa (Codonopsis javanica (Blume) Hook.f. & Thomson) is a vine plant with tuberous roots belonging to the Campanulaceae family. The plant grows in the evergreen or pine forest at 1,000–2,000 meters height above sea level. This plant is considered a medicinal plant that is used for the treatment of diabetes disease. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of MS media supplemented with benzyladenine (BA) at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/L and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 0, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/L on in vitro seed germination and shoot growth of Phuang Chawa. The results revealed that the highest seed germination of 70% was observed on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L NAA and 2.0 mg/L BA. The results of in vitro shoot growth of Phuang Chawa showed that the highest number of shoots was obtained from MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L NAA in combination with 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L BA (2.78 and 3.20 shoots, respectively), and the highest root number was obtained from MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L NAA. The protocol from this study might be useful for in vitro multiplication and conservation of Phuang Chawa.