SHRADDHA MISHRA, DIVYA YADAV, NEERAJ KHARE* AND SADANAND PANDEY
NIAMST, NIMS University Rajasthan, Jaipur-303 121 (Rajasthan), India
*(e-mail: neerajsnkhare@gmail.com; Mobile: 70735 92400)
(Received: August 24, 2025; Accepted: October 2, 2025)
ABSTRACT
Rauwolfia serpentina (Indian snakeroot) is an endangered medicinal plant renowned for producing reserpine,
a pharmaceutically valuable alkaloid with antihypertensive and neuroactive properties. Conventional extraction from roots is unsustainable and limited by overharvesting, making in vitro culture a promising alternative for controlled metabolite production. This study investigated the effect of β-cyclodextrin – A cyclic oligosaccharide known for its dual elicitor and solubilizing roles – on biomass growth, reserpine accumulation, antioxidant enzyme activity and proline content in callus cultures. Calli were grown on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1 mg/l NAA and treated with graded concentrations of β-cyclodextrin (25-100 mM). Biomass, alkaloid content and stress-related parameters were evaluated at different culture ages. Increasing -cyclodextrin concentrations caused a moderate but consistent decline in biomass, while significantly enhancing reserpine accumulation, with the highest yield observed at 75mM after 10 days of elicitation. Activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase rose markedly between 10 and 20 days, followed by a slight decline at 30 days, indicating activation of antioxidant defenses under elicitor-induced stress. Proline levels displayed a similar trend, suggesting osmoprotective adjustment in the cells. Overall, -cyclodextrin successfully stimulated secondary metabolite production in R. serpentina calli without requiring whole plants, demonstrating its potential as an effective and sustainable elicitor for large-scale reserpine production in vitro.
Key words: Rauwolfia serpentina, cell cultures, reserpine, elicitation, β-cyclodextrin