Vol 9 No1 - Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology - Haliç Üniversitesi

38 Jeyaraj ANBURAJ et al.
Introduction
Cleome viscosa Linn. (Capparidaceae) is
commonly known as Tickweed, wild mustard or
Spider plant (English), Hurhur (Hindi) and
Hurhuria (Bengali). It occurs in woodland and
grassland, and is a weed of fallow land, fields,
roadsides and wasteland, often occurring on sandy
soils, but sometimes on calcareous and rocky soils.
It is a widely distributed herb with yellow flowers
and long slender pods containing seeds. The whole
plant is sticky in nature and has a strong odour
resembling asafoetida. It is found in both seasonal
dry and humid conditions, from mean sea level up
to an altitude of 1000 m. The seeds have no
dormancy and germinate readily after shedding.
Plants start flowering 3–4 weeks after germination
and the lifecycle is about 3 months. Cleome viscosa
Linn (Capparidaceae), also called “Dog mustard”,
is a herb that grow up to 1m height in India
(Parimala et al., 2004). Cleome is a large genus
included in the Capparaceae family, which
comprises 427 species occurring in tropical and
subtropical regions of the world (Brummit, 1992).
In Asia and Africa the leaves and seeds are used
as a rubefacient and vesicant and to treat infections,
fever, rheumatism and headache. The whole herb is
used in the treatment of ringworm, flatulence, colic,
dyspepsia, constipation, cough, bronchitis, cardiac
disorders (Kirtikar and Basu, 1975; Saxena et al.,
2000). Leaves are used as the external application
to inflammation of the middle ear and applied on
wounds and ulcers (Chopra et al., 1986),
hepatoprotective activity (Gupta and Dixit, 2009).
Traditionally, this plant is used in various disorders
such as diarrhoea, fever, inflammation, liver
diseases, bronchitis, skin diseases, and malarial
fever. Its juice is useful in piles, lumbago and
earache (Rukmini, 1978). The analgesic, antipyretic
and anti-diarrhoeal activities of the extract have
been reported by researchers. A decoction is used
as an expectorant and digestive stimulant and the
vapour from a steaming decoction of the whole
plant is inhaled to treat headache (CSIR, 1950). The
seeds and its oil have anti-helminthic properties but
they are ineffective in treating roundworm
infections (Saxena et al., 2000). They also have
anti-convulsant effect in Swiss albino mice (Mishra
et al., 2010). The root is a remedy for scurvy and
rheumatism (Rukmini, 1978). An aqueous seed
extract displayed significant analgesic activity in
mice and local anaesthetic activity in guinea pigs
(Singh and West, 1991; Parimaladevi et al., 2003).
In tests with rats, the anti-diarrhoeal (Devi et al.,
2002) and anti-pyretic (Devi et al., 2003) activities
of the extracts have been confirmed. Leaves and
young shoots are cooked as a vegetable
(Manandhar, 2002). It has a sharp mustard like
flavor (Facciola, 1990). The pungent seed can be
pickled or used as a mustard substitute in curries
(Manandhar, 2002; Facciola, 1990). The juice of
the plant is used as a condiment (Facciola, 1990).
Oil obtained from the seeds is used for cooking
(Manandhar, 2002). All parts of the plant are used
in liver diseases, chronic painful joints and mental
disorders (Chatterjee and Pakrashi, 1991).
The induction of callus growth and subsequent
differentiation and organogenesis is accomplished
by the differential application of growth regulators
and the control conditions in the culture medium.
With the stimulus of endogenous growth substances
or by addition of exogenous growth regulators to
the nutrient medium cell division, cell growth and
tissue differentiation are induced (Tripathi and
Tripathi 2003). Organogenesis permits the
manipulation of large numbers of high quality plant
material within a short period of time. The vast
usage of the Cleome viscosa in medicinal purpose,
based on the above reason, it is increasing
commercial demand of Cleome viscosa. The
present study was undertaken to develop a more
efficient protocol for rapid in vitro multiplication of
Cleome viscosa using leaf explants as an initial
plant material.
Materials and methods
The plants were collected from in and around
Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, India (Figure
1). Small young leaves were collected from healthy
plants of Cleome viscosa L defoliated and sectioned
into many segments. They were washed under
continuous flashing of running tap water for 30
minutes and then with distilled water three times.
Leaves were treated with 0.1% mercury chloride
for 1.5 minutes and washed with sterilized double
distilled water for 3 times. The small washed
explants were treated with 3% hydrogen peroxide
for 1.5 minutes and then washed with sterilized
double distilled water for 3 times. At final the
explants were treated with 70% ethanol for 0.5
minutes and then washed with sterilized double
distilled water for 3 times in laminar air flow
cabinet.