Perpustakaan Digital ITB

Centella asiatica is known plant to be used within medicine and cosmetics. It has been known to have effect against viral, bacterial, or tumor infections and also anti-inflammatory and enhanced wound healing capabilities. Asiaticoside as the main metabolite present in the methanol extract of C.asiatica is the main contributor for the therapeutical benefits. With the rise of demand for such benefits, increasing production for C. asiatica metabolite becomes an important mission to help reduce wild harvesting of C. asiatica to fulfil said demand. This study investigated the potential of using methyl jasmonate (MeJA) elicitation and precursor supplementation to enhance the production of asiaticoside in Centella asiatica callus suspension cultures. A primary objective was to determine effects from elicitor such as MeJA and precursors, such as pyruvate and mevalonate in the production of asiaticoside in C. asiatica, specifically the callus suspension. The most vigorous and friable callus was successfully induced on a Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 4 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 3 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) under a continuous 24-hour darkness photoperiod. Following this, the callus was treated with elicitor and precursor combinations. Quantification by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) demonstrated that treatment with a combination of MeJA-sodium mevalonate led to a significant increase in asiaticoside concentration on day 18 of the treatment period, surpassing the yields from MeJA-only, MeJA-pyruvate combination, and control groups. This finding suggested a positive synergistic effect between MeJA and mevalonate in stimulating the biosynthesis of the target metabolite. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between increased biomass and enhanced asiaticoside production, indicating that biomass could serve as a useful proxy for successful treatment. The results of this study provide a foundational protocol for the in vitro enhancement of asiaticoside production, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional wild harvesting methods for this valuable medicinal compound.