MICROPROPAGATION AND CAMPTOTHECIN PRODUCTION OF OPHIORRHIZA HARRISIANA BY TEMPORARY IMMERSION BIOREACTOR

Abstract

Ophiorrhiza harrisiana is a plant which produces camptothecin (CPT) in its roots and leaves. CPT is a precursor in the synthesis of chemotherapeutic drug. Since this plant is an herb that is found in particular location and season, conservation and propagation of this plant species are needed. The objectives of this study were to propagate the plant in two tissue culture systems including conventional method (CM) and temporary immersion bioreactor (TIB), and to study its potential in CPT production. O. harrisiana cultured by CM on semi-solid medium containing 1/2 MS supplemented with kinetin 4.6 µM showed the highest average number of shoots with 15.4 shoots per explant. When the plant was grown by TIB, multiple shoots could be induced on 1/2 MS medium without any plant growth regulator. When comparing between CM and TIB, it was found that the number and length of the shoots derived from TIB were about 4.4 and 1.4 times higher than those from CM, respectively. The CPT content of O. harrisiana was analyzed in four plant sources including natural source, CM, TIB, and soil-cultivated plant. The results showed that the highest amount of CPT was observed in both leaf and root of the plant from TIB cultures which were 521.79 and 316.55 µg/g dry weight, respectively. In conclusion, the plant grown in TIB can be propagated to obtain higher number of plantlets than CM and produce the highest amount of CPT among other plant sources. Therefore, TIB can be a suitable system to be used as an alternative method in the production of chemotherapeutic drug in the industrial scale and in the conservation of this plant from extinction.