A protocol for C. japonica micropropagation with a confirmation of genome size stability of the in vitro-propagated plantlets was developed. The highest number of shoots multiplied in vitro was obtained on Murashige & Skoog medium (MS) with 1.0 mg L-1 N6-benzyladenine plus 1.0 mg L-1 indole-3-acetic acid. The highest number of roots was observed for the shoots on MS with 15 g L-1 sucrose plus 1.0 mg L-1 indole-3-acetic acid. The acclimatization rate was significantly high. The qualitative HPLC analyses confirmed the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids in the extracts. The extracts from both shoot cultures and the leaves from field-grown plants revealed antioxidant activity and they exhibited moderate antimicrobial activity. The conducted research confirmed the regeneration potential of genetically-stable plants of C. japonica under in vitro conditions, the ability of the plantlets to produce polyphenols as those present in field-grown plants, as well as their antioxidant potential.
Keywords: DNA content; Japanese quince; antimicrobial activity; antioxidant tests; micropropagation; polyphenols.