Anticholinesterase and mutagenic evaluation of in vitro-regenerated Agapanthus praecox grown ex vitro

Beyond establishing micropropagation protocols for medicinal plants, it is important that the efficacy and safety of propagated plants be ascertained for these plants to be accepted for use in traditional medicine. The use of propagated plants could alleviate/reduce over-exploitation of wild populations. The present study evaluated the anticholinesterase and mutagenic properties of 1-yr-old tissue culture-derived Agapanthus praecox grown ex vitro and naturally grown mother plants. The tissue culture-derived plants were regenerated using different plant growth regulators. A dose-dependent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme was observed in all the tissue culture-derived and naturally grown mother plants. The leaf extract of tissue culture-derived plants regenerated with a combination of benzyladenine (BA) and thidiazuron (TDZ) demonstrated a significantly low AChE-inhibitory activity. Conversely, the root extract of plants regenerated with BA alone demonstrated the highest AChE-inhibition activity (IC₅₀ = 0.20 mg/mL) when compared to extracts from other treatments and the naturally grown mother plants. None of the samples were found to be mutagenic in the absence of metabolic activation. The present study indicated that regenerated plants could be used as potent substitutes for naturally grown plants in traditional medicine. However, the choice of treatment used during micropropagation operation may significantly influence the therapeutic potential of regenerated plants, even after 1 yr of growth.