Callogenesis and Antibacterial Activity of <i>Balanites aegyptiaca</i>

Abstract

B. aegyptiaca, it is a species of economic and cultural importance in various countries, with diverse uses that include: medicinal, charcoal, pesticides and forage and in vitro callus production is important to have many applications in both basic and industrial research on this specie. For the induction of callus, B. aegyptica seed cotyledons were surface sterilized with 90% ethanol for 1 minute and cultivated in MS media supplemented with 2,4-D, BAP and NAA. Both the callus and seed were collected and dried in an oven at 40˚C-45˚C. Cotyledon's seed and callus were grounded into the powdered form using mortar and pestle and stored at room temperature for further use. Five grams (5 g) each of the powder were mixed with 50 ml of the solvents: methanol and n-hexane (1:10) w/v, agitated vigorously and kept on an orbital shaker at 150 rpm for 24 h, then filtered. The extracts of the plant sample were evaluated in agar dilution method which was used to determine the MIC and MBC of the extracts. The auxin NAA in low concentrations (0.5 mg/L) in the presence of a dose of 0.5 mg/L of the cytokinin BAP induced 100% callus formation. The 50 and 100 mg/ml methanolic extracts were more effective than the n-hexane extracts for both the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. By callus extracts under 100 and 50 mg/ml reveals that methanolic extracts of callus had the highest zone of inhibition. An effective protocol for callus induction has been developed that can use for germplasm conservation or for genetic engineering. Evidence from the present study revealed both extracts possess strong broad-spectrum antibacterial effect.