Micropropagation of <i>Origanum sipyleum</i> L., an endemic medicinal herb of Turkey

Abstract

Origanum sipyleum L. (Lamiaceae) is an endemic species of the Western Anatolia, Turkey. Essential oils of oreganos are utilized in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. A micropropagation protocol was developed using seedlings-derived explants. Shoot apices of 17d-old seedling were cultured and shoots multiplied on Murashige-Skoog modified (MSM) containing 550 mg/l of CaCl2 for sustained growth. Multiple shoots (3.7 ± 0.3 shoot/explant) were produced on medium containing 1 mg/L benzylaminopurine (BAP). On subculturing rated of shoot multiplication increased to 7.8 ± 0.4. 96% of
the shoots rooted in a culture medium with 0.5 mg/L indolebutyric acid (IBA) after 3 weeks. The plantlets were acclimatized into outdoor conditions. 76% of these survived in the greenhouse. These in vitro derived microplants are already under the evaluation for their essential oil composition.