In Vitro Propagation of Digitalis trojana Ivanina., an Endemic Medicinal Plant of Turkey

Abstract

Digitalis trojana Ivanina is a member of the Plantaginaceae family and known by its common name, Helen of Troy foxglove. It is perennial endemic to Çanakkale and Balıkesir, northwestern Turkey. In order to develop an efficient shoot regeneration protocol, the leaf explants of D. trojana were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 6-benzyl adenine (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg/L) and α-naphthalene acetic acid (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/L), 3% (w/v) sucrose and 0.8% (w/v) agar. The highest number of regenerated shoots was obtained from leaf explants that were cultured on MS medium with 3.0 mg/L BA+0.1 mg/L NAA. Regenerated shoots were rooted on MS medium without plant growth regulators. Rooted plants (2–3 cm) were separately transferred to pots containing a mixture of peat and perlite (2:1 v/v) and acclimatized successfully in a growth chamber.