In vitro Propagation and GC-MS Studies of Ocimum basilicum Linn. var. pilosum (Willd.) Benth

An in vitro propagation method is outlined for Ocimum basilicum Linn. var. pilosum (Willd.) Benth., a wild aromatic plant belongs to Lamiaceae family. Shoot buds were used as source of explants on MS media supplemented with different concentrations of growth regulators for callus growth, induction of multiple shoots and roots respectively. MS media with 1.5 mg/L of kinetin and 0.5 mg/L of NAA showed 95.5% shooting, maximum number of shoots (7.33) and relatively better shoot lengths (4.15 cm). Excised shoots were carefully transferred to half-strength MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for root induction and it yields 86.6% rooting. Whereas, average root length and number of roots observed were 1.73 cm and 3.31 respectively per explants. Rooted plantlets were hardened and successfully established in natural soil, where they grew and matured normally. GC-MS studies in methanolic leaf extract of naturally grown Ocimum species yielded 15 compounds. Two compounds viz. cis-9-Hexadecenal (35.06%) and n-Hexa decanoic acid (21.6%) accounted for the major share (56.66%). On the other hand, 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde (10.99%) as well as 4H-1-Benzopyran-4-one and 5-Hydroxy-6, 7-Dimethoxy-2-(4-Methoxyphenyl) (7.75%) represented only 18.74%. Establishment of reliable in vitro propagation protocol, with phytochemical profile of hitherto unreported Ocimum species further widens the scope to evaluate its therapeutic properties.