Effect of colchicine treatment and polyploidy induction on morphological, biochemical, and cytological characteristics of Lepidium sativum Linn․

Humans rely on plants for food, fuel, shelter, and medicine. Medicinally important plants possess exceptional molecules with medicinal purposes. To enhance the desirable traits of these particular plants, polyploidy induction is an excellent breeding technique altering the ploidy level of the genome, providing the ability to survive in adverse circumstances compared to normal plants. Thus, the present research aimed to obtain the autotetraploids in Lepidium sativum Linn. that are widely used in traditional medicines to treat respiratory disorders. It is rich in compounds such as flavonoids and glucosinolates that possess anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, it is beneficial for health, mainly in maintaining the immune system, bones, and cardiovascular health. The experiment was performed by the dropping method in true two-leaf stages of the young seedlings treated with different concentrations of the colchicine (0.2, 0.4, and 0.5%) for the durations 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. The polyploidy induction was found to be in the form of morphological variations such as leaf length, leaf thickness, leaf breadth stomata size, stomata density, bud size, pod size, seed size, seed weight, pollen diameter, and cytological parameters including doubling of the genome within tetraploid plants in comparison to diploid plants. The observed autotetraploids were grown up to full maturity, and harvested seeds were analyzed via gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS), showing an increased percentage of biochemicals such as fatty acids. Because the growth and development of plants are influenced by polyploidization, plant breeding has used chromosome doubling to boost the amounts of desired chemicals, and the same has been observed, resulting in a potential cultivar of Lepidium sativum Linn. with an increased yield and better adaptability.