Environmental and ecological aspects of cultivation of selected energy and herbal plants propagated by in vitro culture

There has been a growing interest over the last years in techniques using alternative and pharmaceutical plants due to their wide potential applications. These species are characterised by valuable and multidirectional usable features, due to which their practical application is superior to their physiognomic features. These plants may provide a raw material for production of medicines, cosmetics or may be used for animal feeds. Moreover they may be used as ornamental, melliferous and energy plants. Owing to their generally low soil requirements they are used in the reclamation of degraded land. Among the species characterized by multidirectional use are Silphium perfoliatum, Helichrysum arenarium and Stevia rebaudiana. These plants are characterized by a high content of active compounds and a number of pro-health characteristics. Because raw materials for production of medicines and cosmetics should be standardized, cultures maintained under controlled conditions are a good source of seedlings. ...

A non caloric sweetener stevia rebaudiana bertoni - tissue cultured plantlets for organic farming and home gardening

The paper presents the optimization process of obtaining plantlets of Stevia rebaudiana under in vitro culture conditions and describes the method for adjusting the rooted plants to ex vitro conditions. The low viability of seeds and poor germination are the reasons of difficulties in commercial cultivation of this species in Poland. Plant tissue and cell cultures are the techniques helping to overcome these limitations. Numerous shoots were obtained using sterile nodal segments that were cultured on solidified MS media and supplemented with phytohormones. Elongated shoots were transferred onto the rooting medium. Thus in vitro regenerated plantlets were acclimated to greenhouse conditions. The highest efficiency of shoots proliferation was observed at presence of 0.5 mg dm-3 BAP. The longest stems and the largest number of leaves and the greatest width of leaf were observed when 0.5 mg dm-3 GA3 was applied into medium. The process of rhizogenesis was intensified by the 0.5 mg dm-3 IBA contained in the nutrient medium. Under the influence of this phytohormone roots were the most numerous and the longest. At the stage of acclimatization 1/4 MS salt solution was used for irrigation of plantlets what supports increased of the process from 46% to 70% in comparison ...