Direct Adventitious Shoot Induction and Plant Regeneration Using Shoot Tip Explants of Medicinal Herb Solanum nigrum

Solanum nigrum L., a medicinally essential species of the family Solanaceae, was regenerated in vitro via high-frequency direct adventitious shoot induction from shoot tip explants. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with benzylaminopurine (BAP) or thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.5–3.0 mg/L), singly or in combination with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.5 mg/L), was evaluated for adventitious shoot induction. The highest regeneration efficiency, i.e., (98.5 ± 0.38% shoot induction; 142.2 ± 0.33 shoots per explant) was obtained on MS medium containing TDZ (2.0 mg/l) with IAA (0.5 mg/l). Rooting was optimized on MS medium supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The best rhizogenesis of shoots was observed on MS medium supplemented with IBA (2.5 mg/L). The well-developed plantlets with healthy roots were successfully acclimatized and established in the field, achieving a 90% survival rate with no observable phenotypic variations. This efficient and reproducible protocol provides a valuable platform for genetic transformation and other biotechnological applications in the medicinal plant S. nigrum.