Production of Secondary Plant Metabolite Phyllanthin in Phyllanthus niruri Linn. by Leaf Tissue Culture

Phyllanthus niruri Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) is native of Brazil and indigenous to Indiaand commonly knownas“Pitirishi” or “Budhatri”. The plant is reported to be used as a remedy for asthma, bronchitis, extreme thirst, anemia, jaundice and tuberculosis. Young leaves and flowers were cultured on White's media, MS media and Gamborg media (B5) with different groups of phytohormones. MS media and Gamborg media were found to be suitable for the induction of callus culture. The outcome of the study showed that, out of the two media which were employed for the induction of callus, the Gamborg media supplemented with 2, 4-D (1mg/L) along with Kinetin (0.5 mg/L) as phytohormones showed faster initiation of callus culture. However MS Media, supplemented with 2, 4-D (1mg/L) and Kinetin (0.5mg/L) as the phytohormones, contributed to the maximum yield of the callus. Simultaneously, the amount of phyllanthin produced in different age groups of callus culture was estimated by HPLC. The maximum yield of phyllanthin was obtained in 12 week callus with MS media, supplemented with 2, 4-D (1mg/L) along with Kinetin (0.5mg/L). The callus also showed moderate In vitro antioxidant and anticancer activity. The described method can be successfully employed for the large-scale multiplication and maximize the yield of secondary metabolites.