Determination of the Diosgenin Content in Tetraploid Lines and Radiation Lines of Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright

OBJECTIVE To improve the quality of Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H.Wright. METHODS By tissue culture, callus and clump buds of D. zingiberensis were treated with colchicine and 60Co γ ray to induce autotetraploid lines and radiation lines which were selected according to the diosgenin content in rhizoma of the plantlets and some one-year growth plants. RESULTS The diosgenin content in rhizoma of the most autotetraploid and radiation plantlets were higher than that of contral. The diosgenin content in rhizoma of autotetraploid plantlets and one-year growth plants had strong relation. On the contrary, it had no evident relation in radiation lines. On the whole, the lines with high content diosgenin in rhizoma of the plantlets might have high content of diosgenin in seedling. CONCLUSION On the basis of tissue culture, the research project of polyploidy and radiation breeding was reasonable for improving the quality of D. zingiberensis.