An efficient protocol for mass multiplication of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban and determination of its phenolic content

Plants are natural source of medicine and used in curing diseases. The medicinal plants have been used as the herbal remedies. At present use of natural products in treating diseases are increasing. Herbal drugs have achieved much popularity due to increasing awareness towards personal health which leads to maintained health through the natural products [1]. The high public demands of these medicinal plants required its conservationthrough the micropropagation as well as enhancement of secondary metabolites through the callus culture, suspension cultures and treatment of elicitor’s molecule [2]. Centella asiaticawhich is also known as Indian pennywort are small herbaceous annual plant widely distributed in India, Malaysia, SriLanka, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia [3,4]. The plant belongs to the family Apiaceae [5]. The extract of Centella asiaticais used for wound healing [6] as well as various skin diseases viz: leprosy, lupus, varicose ulcer,eczema, psoriasis and female genital urinary tract infections [7]. Ethanolic extract of Centella has been well elucidated for antibacterial activity [10]. Apart from antibacterial activity, essential oil of C. asiatica is endowed with antimicrobial activity [9,11].Crude methanolic extract as well as hydroalchoholic activity showed antioxidant properties [8]. Centella asiaticais assumed to be effective on the connective tissues by strengthened weakened viens[12]. Triterpene of C.asiatica also showed antidepressant activity [13].Centella asiatica of Asiatic region enhances GABA in cerebral cortex which depicts its conventional anxiolytic and anticonvusalant property [7,14]. The major constituents of these medicinal plants are madecassid acid, asiatic acid, centellasaponins as well as three types of asiaticoside viz: asiaticoside, asiaticoside A and asiaticoside B [15]. Because of great demands of these bioactive molecules, researchers focused to develop plant tissue culture techniques to increase the number of plantlets as well as to enhance the secondary metabolite production through the callus culture [16, 28]. Therefore, the major thrust of present investigation was to standardize a protocol for micropropagation of this valuable medicinal plant in B5 media. We also determined bioactive molecules productioninvivo and invitrocondition.