Shoot-tip Cultivation and Cardenolide Content Analysis of Natural Populations of Digitalis lanata Ehrh. subsp. lanata (wooly foxglove) in Thrace Region

Digitalis lanata, due to the presence of cardenolides in the leaves, is widely used in drug industry for the treatments of congestive heart diesases. In this present study, natural populations of D. lanata in Thrace region were collected. Thereafter, cardiac glycoside analysis of D. lanata subsp. lanata grown in natural habitats and micropropagation from shoot tips were established as a model work for a consistent and a sustainable plant production. Of the cardenolides, Lan A (ranging between 24.8 and 300.4 mg 100 g -1 ) and Lan C (42.1 and 258 mg 100 g -1 were predominantly found in the samples as compared to lanatoside B, digoxin and digitoxin. After seed germination, shoot-tip cultivation was achieved after a subsequent shoot and root formation on MS medium. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) depending on their concentrations were found to be effective in shoot and root formation accordingly. Maximum two shoots from shoot tips were produced after 8 weeks of cultivation, and at the end of 12 th weeks of cultivation each shoots produced an average number of 6.4 roots in 8.1 cm length. Acclimatization was also achieved successfully with a maximum survival rate (95 %) for 4 weeks. This study is the first report on cardenolide profiling of Thracian D. lanata at different locations, and shoot tip cultivation of the population selected under in vitro conditions.