Abstract
The pharmaceutical industry’s increasing reliance on natural plant materials for phytopreparations highlights the need for sustainable methods of medicinal plant production. Lychnis chalcedonica, a valuable medicinal plant used in folk medicine and known for its wide range of biological activities, faces challenges in seed storage due to natural population reduction. Cryopreservation of L. chalcedonica seeds becomes a crucial tool to preserve genetic diversity and ensure a stable source of raw materials for future cultivation, while enhancing its availability for the pharmaceutical industry and medicinal use. Seeds of this variety were collected in the State National Natural Park “Buiratau”, August 2023. Studies on cryopreservation of seeds of this species were conducted in the laboratory of the research park «Biotechnology and Ecomonitoring» of E.A. Buketov Karaganda University. It has been shown that seeds retain high germination after storage in liquid nitrogen. The effect of ethylene glycol and glucose as cryoprotectants was studied to increase the efficiency of storage in liquid nitrogen. It was found that ethylene glycol in concentrations of 5-15% provides acceptable germination, and glucose in concentrations of 20-40% contributes to the preservation of germination energy. The results obtained confirm the possibility of effective cryopreservation of L. chalcedonica seeds for long-term storage, which opens prospects for the conservation of this valuable species and inclusion in the cryobank of medicinal plant seeds.