Comparative effects of plant growth regulators on leaf and stem explants of Labisia pumila var. alata

Labisia pumila var. alata, commonly known as 'Kacip Fatimah' or 'Selusuh Fatimah' in Southeast Asia, is traditionally used by members of the Malay community because of its post-partum medicinal properties. Its various pharmaceutical applications cause an excessive harvesting and lead to serious shortage in natural habitat. Thus, this in vitro propagation study investigated the effects of different plant growth regulators (PGRs) on in vitro leaf and stem explants of L. pumila. The capabilities of callus, shoot, and root formation were evaluated by culturing both explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various PGRs at the concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 mg/L. Medium supplemented with 3 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) showed the optimal callogenesis from both leaf and stem explants with (72.34 +/- 19.55)% and (70.40 +/- 14.14)% efficacy, respectively. IBA was also found to be the most efficient PGR for root induction. A total of (50.00 +/- 7.07)% and (77.78 +/- 16.47)% of root formation were obtained from the in vitro stem and leaf explants after being cultured for (26.5 +/- 5.0) and (30.0 +/- 8.5) d in the medium supplemented with 1 and 3 mg/L of IBA, respectively. Shoot formation was only observed in stem explant, with the maximum percentage of formation ((100.00 +/- 0.00)%) that was obtained in 1 mg/L zeatin after (11.0 +/- 2.8) d of culture. Callus, roots, and shoots can be induced from in vitro leaf and stem explants of L. pumila through the manipulation of types and concentrations of PGRs.