Efficient In Vitro Micropropagation of Cinchona officinalis from Nodal Segments

Huatay-Saldaña A.W.; Ramos-Sanchez J.L.; Chuquimango-Álvarez D.D.; Dávila-Estela L.; Malpica-Rodríguez M.G.; Hilario-Román N.; Panduro-Tenazoa N.M.; Baldevenites E.V.L.; Mori-Vásquez J.A.; Gonzales-Alvarado A.C. · Revista Facultad Nacional de Agronomia Medellin (2026) · DOI: 10.15446/rfnam.v79.124867

Resumen

Cinchona officinalis is an emblematic species of the tropical Andes that faces both anthropogenic and environmental pressures, highlighting the urgency of developing strategies for its conservation and propagation. This study aimed to develop and optimize micropropagation using nodal segments through three experiments. The first experiment evaluated disinfection using sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) at different concentrations: 0, 1.5, 2 and 2.5%. The second experiment examined the effect of combining indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) on shoot proliferation, assessing shoot number (SN), shoot length (SL) and survival (%S). The third experiment investigated the influence of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) on root development, measuring root number (RN), root length (RL), and rooting percentage (%E). The best disinfection results were obtained with 2% NaClO, which produced the best outcomes, achieving the lowest contamination rate (5.56%), reduced phenol release (33.33%), and the highest survival rate (61.11%). For shoot proliferation, 2.28 µM IAA combined with 5.33 µM BAP promoted both a higher number (2.5 shoots per plant) and length (23.5 mm per plant) of shoots. In the rooting phase, two treatments were particularly effective: 7.38 µM IBA + 5.37 µM NAA and 9.84 µM IBA + 8.06 µM NAA, yielding more roots (2.93 and 2.47 per plant) and increased root length (5.43 and 5.67 cm per plant, respectively). In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the micropropagation of C. officinalis from nodal segments is feasible, offering a practical approach for the conservation and propagation of the species, and providing a solid foundation for large-scale clonal reproduction.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrión; Universidad Nacional de Ucayali; Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca; Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Amazonia