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The present study describes an efficient and reproducible protocol for micropropagation of Tridax procumbens, a medicinal plant. Direct shoot regeneration was attained from nodal explant on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with BAP (2 mg L^sup -1^) + KN (1 mg L^sup -1^), maximum number of shoots (4 shoots) and beneficial shoot length (3.9 cm) were achieved. The effect of different types and concentrations of auxins and cytokinins were tested, i.e. BAP, KN, NAA and TDZ. Well-developed shoots were transferred to half strength MS medium after dipping in 1 mg L^sup -1^ IBA for 30 min. The well rooted plantlets were successfully hardened with 80% survivability.
Key words: Auxins, Cytokinins, Micropropagation, Tridax procumbens, TDZ.
INTRODUCTION
Tridax procumbens (fam. Asteraceae) is commonly known as "Coat button". It is perennial herb, widely distributed throughout the Asia, tropical Africa and Australia. The plant is valued for its medicinal properties. T. procumbens is known for its wound healing activities (Sharma and Kumar, 2009). It has been extensively used in Indian traditional medicine in diarrhoea, dysentery, malaria, stomach-ache and prevent falling of hairs (Jude et al., 2010). The leaves are rich source of natural antioxidant (Dube et al., 2011).
Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, carotenoids, -sitisterol, nhexane, fumaric acid, oxoester, lauric acid, myristic, palmitic, linoleic acid, tannin, steroids and terpenoids (Agrawal et al., 2010). Oleanolic acid present in good amount and it is a potential antidiabetic agent. It is used as bioadsorbent for chromium (VI) (Mundada and Shivhare, 2010).
It was reported to possess anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating, anticoagulant, antidiabitic, antifungal activities (Wani et al., 2010). From the flowers of T. procumbens, luteolin, glucoluteolin, quercetin and isoquercetin have been isolated (Mundada and Shivhare, 2010).
Plant tissue culture techniques have great potential for clonal propagation of elite clones and provide sufficient number of plantlets of elite plants in a comparatively short time. Comparing with traditional methods of producing medicinal plant, in vitro micropropagation have many advantages such as the independent of seasonal variation, mass production, rapid propagation within limited time and space conservation of threatened plant species, production of new and improved genetically engineered plant and production of secondary metabolites (Adel et al., 2012; Shatnawi, 2013).
Micropropagation of Several medicinal plants has been reported: Achillea millefolium (Shatnawi, 2013),...