الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Nerium oleander L.(Family: Apocynaceae) is widely cultivated in Egypt as an ornamental plant. It is used in folk medicine for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases including cardiovascular disorder and tumors. Extraction of adequate quantities of cardenolides, including oleandrin from N oleander L. leaves is an expensive and time- consuming process. The present study focuses on the establishment of N oleander L. cell cultures that may act as an alternative to the whole plant extraction for the production of cardenolides and other active metabolites. Improvement of callus growth and cell suspension cultures growth and productivity were investigated using a two-level full factorial design with five factors which are carbon source, nitrogen concentration, 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), auxins and cytokinins. Effects of factors and their interactions on growth and cardenolide content in callus and suspension cultures were estimated. The best medium for maximum cardenolide productivity in cell suspension, within the studied factors and leve ls, was determined to contain sucrose (30 gll), 60 mM total nitrogen,l- naphthaleneacetic acid, kinetin (2 mg/l each) and without 2,4-D. Cardenolide accumulation in suspension cultures showed different kinetics from that of the cell growth. Although cardenolide - content of in vitro cultures is low compared with the plant, callus growth rate increased about twice during culture manipulation. Flavonoids were br>detected in cultured tissues. Culture extracts of N. oleander showed only weak antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, while plant extracts showed moderate antibacterial and strong articandidal activities. |