Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) on in vitro propagation of Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen

The plant Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen, known as Brazilian ginseng, is extensively used in folk medicine due to its phytotherapic characteristics. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of BAP and TDZ concentrations on the in vitro propagation of two sources (BRA and JB-UFSM) of this species. Nodal segments originated from aseptically grown plants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0, 1 and 5 μM BAP or TDZ. After 30 days, the plants were transferred to MS medium without cytokinin. The in vitro organogenesis of P. glomerata is genotype-dependent. The source BRA had greater potential for in vitro propagation than JB-UFSM. The culture of BRA nodal segments on medium with 1 μM TDZ, followed by subcultivation of sprouts on cytokinin-free medium, showed to be a viable method for in vitro propagation due to high multiplication rate and good plant development. In the source JB-UFSM, the culture of nodal segments on medium without cytokinin was the best method to obtain a large number of high-quality plants.

Amaranthaceae; Brazilian ginseng; in vitro culture; cytokinins