DIVYA YADAV, NEERAJ KHARE, SADANAND PANDEY AND HIMANI GOYAL SHARMA*
NIAMST, NIMS University Rajasthan, Jaipur-303 121 (Rajasthan), India
*(e-mail:himani.goyal@nimsuniversity.org; Mobile: 9676974176)
(Received: December 24, 2025; Accepted: February 6, 2026)
ABSTRACT
The present study is an effort to develop an efficient protocol for the in vitro induction of calli from Rauwolfia serpentina leaves as explants and evaluation of chitosan as elicitor for enhancement of ajmalicine content in R. serpentina calli. Initially MS medium supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of phytohormones (2,4-D, NAA, BAP and Kinetin) were examined for calli development and NAA (2.0 mg/l) in combination with KIN (1.0 mg/l) which recorded maximum of 1.04 gm fresh weight of callus after four weeks of culture period. The established calli were treated with different concentrations of chitosan (25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/l) for seven days to evaluate its elicitor effects on biomass. It was recorded that compared with control cultures, elicited calli on increasing the chitosan concentrations, culture biomass decreased. 25 mg/l chitosan treatment for 24 h on 19 days callus cultures were recorded for highest ajmalicine content. It was recorded that compared with control cultures, elicited callion increasing the chitosan concentrations, proline accumulation and antioxidant enzyme activity increased. Overall, the study demonstrated that chitosan acted as a potent and eco-friendly elicitor capable of stimulating ajmalicine biosynthesis in R. serpentina callus cultures, offering valuable insights for optimizing elicitation-based ajmalicine enhancement strategies.
Key words: Rauvolfia serpentina, callus cultures, elicitation, chitosan, ajmalicine