In vitro propagation and phytochemical analysis of Vanda cristata Wall. ex Lindl: An endangered medicinal orchid of biopharmaceutical importance

In the present investigation, an attempt was made to study in vitro propagation of Vanda cristata Wall. ex Lindl., an endangered and medicinally important epiphytic orchid, using seed germination which may reduce the pressures on its heedless collections from natural habitats. In vitro cultures were raised via asymbiotic seed germination technique on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium with and without growth addi-tives. When medium was supplemented with Kinetin, 99.75 +/- 0.25% seeds successfully germinated in 5.50 +/- 0.28 days followed by early protocorm formation (32.25 +/- 0.47 days) and complete seedling development (99.25 +/- 0.47 days). Indole-3-acetic acid+6-benzyl aminopurine in the medium showed synergistic effect dur-ing initial stages of seed germination and seedling development. Comparative phytochemical analysis, how-ever, revealed that mother plant had a higher yield of secondary metabolites than in vitro regenerated plants. GC-MS analysis of the leaf methanolic extracts revealed 54 different phytochemicals. The outcome of the present study may be highly beneficial for the germplasm conservation and commercial cultivation of V. cristata for therapeutic purposes.(c) 2022 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, the in vitro propagation of the endangered and medicinally important orchid Vanda cristata Wall. ex Lindl. was investigated using seed germination. The addition of Kinetin in the culture medium promoted successful germination, early protocorm formation, and complete seedling development. The use of Indole-3-acetic acid+6-benzyl aminopurine in the medium showed a synergistic effect. However, the phytochemical analysis revealed that the mother plant had a higher yield of secondary metabolites compared to the in vitro regenerated plants. GC-MS analysis identified 54 different phytochemicals in the leaf methanolic extracts. The findings of this study have significant implications for germplasm conservation and commercial cultivation of V. cristata for therapeutic purposes.