Micropropagation of Rauvolfia serpentina L. Benth. ex Kurz: An Endangered Medicinal Plant

Abstract

Rauvolfia serpentina is an endangered medicinal plant with limited seed-based propagation because of poor seed viability and low germination. This study aimed to standardise an in vitro propagation protocol using shoot tips by evaluating shoot initiation, shoot multiplication, shoot survival, and rooting responses under different plant growth regulator combinations. Mature and healthy shoots were collected from the Horticulture Forest Garden of Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, and nodal segments were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and IBA. Cultures were maintained at 25 ± 2°C under a 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod, and the data were analysed using a complete randomised design. The earliest shoot initiation occurred after 8.82 days on MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L BAP and 1.0 mg/L IBA, and the same treatment produced the highest number of regenerated shoots (5.12 shoots/explant) and the highest shoot-health score. Rooting was not observed on the shoot multiplication medium; therefore, regenerated shoots were transferred to rooting media containing IBA and NAA. The highest rooting response was 61.67% with 2.0 mg/L IBA and 0.50 mg/L NAA, with 53.33% post-rooting survival. These results identify treatment combinations that may support mass multiplication, synthetic seed preparation, and subsequent in vitro conservation of R. serpentina.