Distribution and in vitro propagation of callus and cell suspension culture of Acmella uliginosa

Acmella uliginosa or locally known as Subang Nenek plant is an annual or short-lived herbs that is characterized by its bright yellow and cone shaped flower with dark-green leaves and this plant belongs to the Asteraceae family. According to the previous studies, A. uliginosa is a crucial plant in medicinal field and have been used as traditional medicine for cure toothaches. However, the data of distribution A. uliginosa in Malaysia have not been updated in International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and no continuous data have been recorded in Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences Intemational (CABI) data. This study have been carried out to determine the distribution of A. uliginosa in Lojing Highlands and Gunung Basor, Kelantan and to initiate in vitro propagation of A. uliginosa. In this study, distribution of A. uliginosa has been determined by using Global Positioning System (GPS) and random survey method in Lojing Highlands and Gunung Basor, Kelantan. Based on the data obtained from random survey, less than 15 coordinate points was recorded in both the study areas. According to Temiar people in Lojing Highlands, Kelantan, these plants is fast disappearing in wild due to human activities such as deforestation, agriculture activity and infrastructure development in its original habitat. For in vitro propagation initiation of A. uliginosa, nodal segment of this plant which was collected from wild sterilized with 15% (v/v) Clorox® solution for l5 minutes and followed by 70% alcohol for several seconds. However, no shoot and root growth were detected in the in vitro plantlets and the explants were contaminated due to fungi contamination. This is might be caused by wrong technique, contamination from surrounding and also due to infection of fungi from within the explant which could not be eliminated using non corrosive chemicals. In future, more optimization for surface sterilization method of this A. uliginosa must be perfonned to initiate the in vitro for plant explants.