Production of Plumbagin from Hairy Root Cultures of Plumbago rosea L.

Hairy root cultures were induced from an endangered plant Plumbago rosea after infecting the in vitro grown shoots with Agrobacterium rhizogenes and accumulation of plumbagin (2-methyl-5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) was detected. Different media and media conditions were standardized for the optimum accumulation of plumbagin from in vitro grown tissues. Hairy roots showed higher biomass and plumbagin in MS medium containing 3% sucrose at a medium pH 5.7. The specific growth rate of the hairy roots in MS medium was 0.15 day-1 with a doubling time of 4.5 days and plumbagin content was 2.53 mg/g dry weight during the stationary phase of culture period. Our results show that hairy roots can be exploited for the production of plumbagin without destroying the natural habitat of P. rosea.