The use of Actaea racemosa L., black cohosh, as an herbal supplement has dramatically increased over the past decade. The rhizome is used for a variety of medicinal purposes involving premenopausal symptoms. This project involved the development of a protocol for establishment of in vitro callus cultures from excised tissues of racemes and leaves. Explants were grown on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) with a variety of concentrations of growth hormones TDZ and NAA. The production of secondary metabolites by these callus cultures is being analyzed by ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry UHPLC/MS. The first inoculation of racemes was observed after one week with a large growth of fungi in twelve of the sixteen plates. The project is ongoing and awaiting further results of callus growth in the plates.
