Objective: Exacum bicolor Roxb. is an endangered medicinal herb due to overexploitation by humans and its inefficient vegetative reproduction. Here, we report an efficient and simple procedure for the regeneration of E. bicolor Roxb. using leaf as an explant. Methods: The optimal concentrations of the hormones needed for callus induction were determined by full factorial method using DOE (Design expert ver. 8.0). The hormones selected based on literature were kinetin, indole acetic acid, and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP). Multiple shoot regeneration was carried out in liquid and solid media with the optimal concentrations of the hormones obtained by DOE. Rooting was initiated using Murashige and Skoog media containing naphthalene acetic acid 0.5 mg/l, indole butyric acid (IBA) 1.0 mg/l, and gibberellic acid 3 0.5 mg/l along with 0.2% of activated charcoal. Results: Analysis of full factorial design run showed that BAP in combination with kinetin was effective for the growth of callus and multiple shoot regeneration was higher in liquid media (81.25%). The rate of rooting was observed to be 88.23% and the average number of roots was 0.26. Plantlets with budding apical region and well-established leaves and roots were observed in 30 days. Conclusion: The protocol reported here can be used for effective production of E. bicolor plants in a shorter duration compared to the conventional approach.

With the increase in medical pandemics caused by emerging and re-emerging microbial pathogens, topping multi drug resistance, there is always a dire requirement for the novel drugs to treat diseases. In view of the imperative need for lead molecules addressing ailments, the authors have extended their phytochemical studies on the crude extracts of Exacum bicolor Roxb, to in silico ADME analysis followed by in vitro screening for biological activities. In present study, the crude extracts of E. bicolor are subjected to GC-MS analysis and a total of 32 phytoconstituents were identified and considered for ADME analysis by Swiss ADME software. This study represents the first-time reports on the in silico screening of the plant extracts of Exacum bicolor. Further preliminary screening of the crude extracts displayed moderate antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal properties, which might be due to the presence of phenolic and alkaloid derivatives.