Study on gametophyte cultivation and bioactive evaluation on biomass of silver moss Bryum argenteum Hedw.

Abstract

Silver moss has long been used as a source of medicinal herbs in several remedies by some tribes around the world. Silver moss was grown to get pure biomass to study the biological activities and active substances. First, the protonema filaments were made to multiply shoots as gametophytes by adding the plant growth regulator 6-benzylaminopurine (BA). Afterward, gametophytes' growth was tested under different conditions including different mineral mediums, types and concentrations of sugar, cultivation types and kinds of light to obtain more biomass. Finally, the n-hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol fraction residues of in vitro and natural biomass were evaluated for DPPH free radical scavenging and tyrosinase inhibition. On the culture medium (1/2 MS), adding 1.0 mg/L BA made the gametophyte develop well and increased the number of shoots collected the most. Silver moss increased biomass accumulation best on 1/2 BCD mineral base, compared with other conditions with the same positive effect on biomass increase. The in vitro biomass extract has a high potential for bioactivity, as the ethyl acetate fraction has DPPH scavenging activity similar to the wild type. Also, the n-hexane fraction of in vitro biomass is the most effective tyrosinase inhibitor of all the fractions examined.