Abstract
Andrographolide is the principal bioactive component of the medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata, to which various diverse pharmacological properties are attributed. Traditionally, andrographolide was extracted from the leaves, stems and other parts of the plant. Leaves have the highest andrographolide content (2–3%) in comparison with the other plant parts. Adventitious root culture of leaf explants of A. paniculata was studied using different strength MS medium supplemented by different concentrations of auxins and a combination of NAA + kinetin for growth and andrographolide production. Among the different auxin treatments in adventitious root culture, only NAA was able to induce adventitious roots. Adventitious roots grown in modified strength MS medium showed the highest root growth (26.7±1.52), as well as the highest amount of andrographolide (133.3±1.5 mg/g DW) as compared with roots grown in half-and full-strength MS medium. Growth kinetics showed maximum biomass production after five weeks of culture in different strength MS liquid medium. The produced andrographolide content was 3.5- 5.5 folds higher than that of the natural plant, depending on the medium strength.