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Callus cultures were initiated from micropropagated Artemisia absinthium plantlets on MS basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of BA, Kn, NAA, IAA and 2,4-D in combination or singly. Supplementing the medium with low doses of both BA in combination with NAA, and Kn in combination with NAA enhanced the growth rate of callus cultures. However, cultures grew slowly following the second subculture and the majority turned brown and died within the next month. Initiation of root and shoot primordia occured directly from leaf explants cultured on 1.81/~M 2,4-D, while adventitious shoot formation from callus was observed occasionally when BA was added to the medium in combination with IAA. Furthermore, medium containing 2.22 #M BA and 2.69 #M NAA stimulated both callus growth and organogenesis on some callus cultures derived from leaves and stems of young stock material. The best results were obtained with leaf explants. Cytological analysis of root meristems revealed that all regenerants were diploid (2n = 18), as expected.

The horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) is a common ornamental tree that possesses numerous useful derivatives (escin, cholesterol-escin complex, glycolic, soft and dry extracts, esculin) in different parts of the plant, especially the seeds and trunk bark. These derivatives are widely used in dermatology and pharmacology, mainly for the treatment of peripheral chronic venous insufficiency, but also in the cosmetic field for the treatment of unattractive features, such as couperose, cellulites and hair loss. More recently proanthocyanidin A 2 , present in the fruit pericarp, bark, leaves, and buds, has shown a protective effect against UV damage. Very little, however, is known about methods for cultivation, chemical composition of seeds of various genotypes, optimum harvest-time of plant tissues, or storage conditions for seeds. This review has been done within the context of the EU research project on the "European Aesculus Cultivation System" in order to better understand the growth and pharmacological properties of secondary metabolites from horse chestnut and may represent the first step towards use of the plant in non-food, income-generating arboriculture of European countries.

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