Scilight Press

Moringa oleifera Lam. belongs to the Moringaceae family which grows in a dry tropical area. Besides being a great food, it has horticulture, industrial and pharmaceutical potential. A protocol was designed for this esteemed plant for the callus formation and plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis. Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium and B5 medium fortified with different concentrations of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) alone or in combination with 0.1-0.2 mg/l 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) was used. The synthetic auxin, 2, 4-D at 2 mg/l and a cytokinin BAP 0.1 mg/l were used to induce callus from shoot apical meristem explant. This media preparation was found to be best combination for the induction of somatic embryo. About 44% of the thriving embryos were germinated on B5 medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP and subsequently regenerated on B5 medium containing 1 mg/l BAP. The B5 medium supplemented with hormones was found to be better for germination and regeneration of somatic embryos as compared to the MS medium. The presented tissue culture protocol will be helpful for the improvement of genetic resources via approaches like somaclonal variations, wild hybridization and genetic engineering in Moringa species.