Fatty acid analysis of in vitro shoot cultures of Portulaca oleracea Linn

Abstract

Portulaca oleracea Linn.; a common vegetable, rich in essential omega fatty acids have gained popularity in recent years as a potential food supplement. The present study, evaluates ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) induced variations, in the fatty acids content of the treated shoot cultures against the in vivo/in vitro fatty acids profile of the shoots. The regeneration of shoots was initiated from the leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium in presence of N6-benzyladenine (BA)/kinetin (Kin). The optimum in vitro shoots (8.3\u2009±\u20091.01 shoots/explants) regenerated in medium supplemented with 5\xa0µM BA and 10\xa0µM Kin. A transfer of these shoots to basal MS medium with 5% coconut water (CW) multiplied the shoots (36.2\u2009±\u20093.70 shoots/explants) after 2\xa0weeks. The in vitro leaves were treated with EMS (0.1–1%) and placed on an optimised medium for developing shoot cultures. The GC–MS analysis of fatty acids in untreated and EMS treated shoot cultures revealed palmitic (C16:0), linoleic (C 18:2), and linolenic (C18:3) acids, being the major fatty acids in all the cultures. At 0.3%/0.6% EMS, the cultures synthesized tricosanoic acid (C 23:0, 2.27\u2009±\u20090.16) while oleic acid at 0.3% was 3.5 times higher compared to in vivo shoots and twice that of the in vitro shoots. The study indicated that the plant has a high regeneration capacity, and the EMS treatment induces variations both in compositions and the content of fatty acids.