Abstract

Hedyotis corymbosa is one of weedy herb belonging to Rubiaceae family. It has been studied and used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of snakebite, antihepatotoxic and cancer. Notably, ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, compounds presented high biological activity in H. Corymbosa, were reported having anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and inhibited the growth of cancer cells. In the present study, fragments of stems containing an axillary bud are cultured on MS½ medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BA and 0.2 mg/L IAA is the best condition which gives the highest number of shoot formation. The shoots are come from the callus of cortex. In different culture conditions (increase the sucrose concentration in the medium culture, increase the light intensity, supplemented with 3 % PEG), shoots grow up strongly under 7,500 lx light intensity, especially in this culture condition the respiratory rate and the concentration of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid are the highest. The respiratory changes and the role of endogenous hormones in the shoot regeneration and the response of shoots in different culture conditions have been analyzed and discussed.