Abstract
Syzygium cordatum (Myrtaceae), a recalcitrant tree species, commonly known as 'umdoni'or water berry is known for its medicinal uses. Extracts of the plant are taken as remedies for various ailments including tuberculosis. This study reports on developing a protocol for in vitro propagation of S. cordatum and the detection of important triterpenes in in vitro and field grown plants. A hundred percent seed germination occurred on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) within 2 to 3 days of culture. In vitro developed Syzigium shoots were cultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of Thidiazuron (TDZ) and Indole butyric acid (IBA) for their multiplication. MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg L-1 TDZ and 1.0 mg L-1 IBA is proved to be most effective in which 4.3 shoots per explants were obtained. The best rooting medium was 1/2 MS or 1/2 woody plant medium (WPM) supplemented with 1 mgL(-1) IBA in which 92% rooting with an average of 3.7 roots per plantlet were obtained. In vitro and field leaf materials were oven-dried, grounded into fine powders and extracted sequentially in hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Betulinic acid (BA), oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) were investigated in vitro and field plants by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), column fractionation using silica gel, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.