Micropropagation is a promising tool that can be utilized for propagation and preservation of many medicinal species that are being explored in an indiscriminated form and are under the risk of extinction. This work had as an objective to induce the growth in vitro of macela clusters in MS culture medium with different concentrations of GA3 (0, 0.1 and 0.5 mgL-1) and BAP (0, 1.0 and 2.0 mgL-1). Macela clusters or buddings with 1.5 cm of average diameter obtained from in vitro established plants were inoculated in glass containing 40ml of culture medium and keept in a growing room with light (2000 lux) supplied by cool white fluorescent lamps for 16 hours daily at 26 ± 1oC. The experiment design was 3 x 3 fatorial using a total of nine treatments with 15 explants each. On the 30th day, the highest plant was observed in the treatment with 0.5 mgL-1 GA3 in the absence of BAP. The greatest number of buddings or diameter growing was observed in the highest levels of growing regulators. However in the presence of growing regulators there was a great number of ill-shaped and vitrified leaves.
tissue culture; proliferation; growth regulators