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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. sp3 (2025): Advances in Plant Health Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture

Unlocking the genetic diversity of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri L.) genotypes: Insights into morphological, biochemical and molecular traits

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.9657
Submitted
27 May 2025
Published
08-12-2025

Abstract

Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri L.), a medicinal herb from the family Scrophulariaceae, thrives in humid climates, predominantly in the damp and marshy areas of the subtropical Indian subcontinent. A study was conducted to evaluate the morphological, biochemical and molecular diversity among 50 germplasm accessions of Brahmi, along with two local checks maintained at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru. Analysis of variance revealed significant variations in morphological and biochemical traits. High estimates of phenotypic coefficient of variation, genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance were noted for traits like flower diameter, fresh and dry herbage yield and the concentrations of Bacoside A and its components (Bacoside A3, Bacopaside II, Bacopasaponin C and Jujubogenin). The genetic divergence analysis, based on morphological characters, categorized the accessions into five clusters, with the largest inter-cluster distance observed between clusters IV and V (1421.738). Cluster III contained accessions with high herbage yield, including JO26/32, IIHR BM-3, IC 554587, IC 554588 and IC 324774. In terms of total Bacoside A content and its components, the accessions were also divided into five clusters, with the maximum inter-cluster distance between clusters III and IV (2.272). A wide variation in triterpenoid saponins was noted, ranging from 1.13 % to 3.49 %, with the highest Bacoside A content found in IC 554588 followed by IIHR BM-30 (3.40 %). Cluster III predominantly included genotypes with high total Bacoside A content, such as IC 554588, IIHR BM-30 and IIHR BM-21. Molecular characterization using 15 RAPD markers showed that 11 primers exhibited 100 % polymorphism, with PIC values ranging from 0.71 to 0.97 and a mean of 0.92. Dendrograms generated from morphological, biochemical and molecular diversity analyses showed close clustering of genotypes. Genotypes with high herbage yield (IIHR BM 23, JO26/32) and high Bacoside A content (IC 554588, IIHR BM 30) hold potential for future breeding programs. The genetically diverse accessions, IC 426447 and IIHR BM-23, are promising candidates for heterosis breeding to improve the Brahmi crop. This study highlights the extensive variation among Brahmi genotypes in morphological, biochemical and molecular traits, offering significant potential for future crop improvement initiatives.

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