Ex-situ conservation and cytotoxic activity assessment of native medicinal orchid: Coelogyne stricta

Ex-situ conservation of the ornamental and medicinal orchid, Coelogyne stricta, was performed by mass propagation using seed culture. Propagation stages were optimized using full- and half-strength solidified MS medium with different phytohormones. Maximum seed germination (88 ± 0.5% over 6 weeks of culture) was achieved on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 15% coconut water. Maximum shoot numbers were found on full-strength MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L BAP, 2 mg/L Kinetin, and 10% coconut water, while the longest root was developed on full-strength MS medium with 1.5 mg/L IBA. A 2:1:1 combination of coco-peat, pine bark, and sphagnum moss was found to be a suitable potting mixture resulting in 80% seedling survivability. The cytotoxic activity of extracts of both wild plants and in vitro-developed protocorms was determined using an MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on a cervical cancer cell line. The wild plant extract inhibited the growth of 41.99% of cells, showing that this extract has moderate cytotoxic activity toward cervical cancer cells.