In-vitro Callus Propagation and Secondary Metabolite Quantification in Sericostoma pauciflorum

Sericostoma pauciflorum Stocks ex Wight (Family Boraginaceae) used against cancer, diabetes and known to be health promoter. Callus cultures have been established from the stem explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/L concentration of different growth hormone viz. kinetin (Kn), indole 3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole 3-butyric acid (IBA). At 6 weeks of age, these calli were harvested, dried and extracted successively in pet, ether, methanol and water. Extracts were dried, weighed (%) and analyzed for their bioefficacies. Antimicrobial activities were determined using agar well diffusion and antioxidant potentials by DPPH and FRAP methods. Among all the test extracts, the extract of stem callus raised on IBA found to be more effective whereas it's pet. ether extract showed appreciable activity against both the test bacteria and fungi (S. aureus- IZ 14.00 ± 0.57 mm and T. rubrum- 16.33 ± 0.32 mm), followed by methanol extract (S. aureus- IZ 13.00 ± 0.57 mm, A. niger and P. chrysogenum- IZ 16.66 mm in both). In antioxidant potentials, all aqueous extracts were more active where IBA and Kn extracts demonstrated 0.06 mg/mL IC50 value (% inhibition 93.30 and 92.70 respectively at 0.8 mg/mL concentration) with 366 ± 6.69 and 343 ± 3.34 ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant potentials at 1 mg/mL concentration. Furthermore, the chemical profile of test extracts was carried out. The bioactive secondary metabolites, β-sitosterol and caffeic acid was isolated from culture tissue of 6 weeks-old callus, and their identification and confirmation was carried out by color reaction, TLC behavior and IR spectrum techniques.