Ficus religiosa L.: Callus, Suspension Culture and Lectin Activity in Fruits and In vitro Regenerated Tissues

Ficus religiosa L. is a tree of immense cultural heritage in Asian countries. It is respected by followers of many religions and faiths. Fruits of Ficus religiosa L. are the ‘figs’ and possess many medicinal properties reported in ethnomedicinal and pharmacological studies. These medicinal properties range from antidiabetic, anticancer, anticonvulsant, antimicrobial, antiviral and antioxidant activities. In the figs, pollination takes place with ‘wasp’. Till date no work on ‘fruit tissue culture’ has been reported in this species. For the first time the callus cultures have been developed using ‘fig fruits’. Fruit callus was multiplied on solid medium using 2 mm to 3 mm diameter fruits. During the present study, lectin/hemagglutinin activity was detected in fruits and fruit callus extracts for the first time. Both In vivo fruits (figs) and In vitro fig callus were used to assay the hemagglutinin activity using pronase treated and untreated rabbit blood erythrocytes. Fruit extract showed 4-8 times more hemagglutination activity in presence of pronase treated erythrocytes. It is the first report of callus/suspension culture and detection of thermostable (up to 70ºC) hemagglutinin/lectin from fruits in this species. Preliminary biochemical characterization of the lectin activity e.g. metal ion requirement, EDTA, pH and temperature stability was carried out during the present study.