芸香屬於無患子目(Sapindale)的多年生草本植物，由於其種子中含有大量吲哚生物鹼類的「肉桂芸香鹼」(harmine)，有抗癌、抗病毒、抗菌、抗發炎等等許多藥理作用。文獻雖記載自荷蘭據台治理時期即栽種芸香作為藥用植物，但因年代久遠，再加上醫藥普及，台灣已未再有芸香經濟栽培及下游產業。因此，本研究重新選拔高含量肉桂芸香鹼芸香植株，並建立組織培養繁殖方法，期望獲得穩定足量的肉桂芸香鹼供後續應用。本研究以嘉義市野外採集及市售芸香種子為材料，種子在含有MS (Murashige & Skoog 1962)基本鹽類的固態培養基中發芽，將幼苗莖頂和子葉作為培植體，接種於含有6-芐基腺嘌呤(6-benzylaminopurine; BAP)的固態培養基中誘導多芽體，再將多芽體切割成單芽後培養於1/2 MS基本鹽類且含有吲哚丁酸(indole-3-butyric acid; IBA)的固態培養基中誘導根生成，最後將完整植株馴化移植出瓶定植生長。定植生長後，蒐集成株結實種子以粗製步驟萃取後，將萃取液放在紫外燈光源下初篩，最後再使用高效液相層析分析與標準品比較肉桂芸香鹼之存在與否並定量。結果顯示，使用組織培養微體繁殖方式能成功增殖出芸香植株，並從6個相應種子樣本中確認一株肉桂芸香鹼之產出，進而獲得每100 g種子肉桂芸香鹼約為0.75 g產量、可供未來保健產業應用之本土芸香植株。

Rue belongs to a perennial herb of the Sapindale order. Rue has been reported with many pharmacological properties, such as anti-cancer, anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, primarily because of large amounts of indole alkaloids and harmine in its seeds. It has been documented that the plant has been cultivated endogenously in Taiwan as a medicinal plant since the Dutch occupancy period; however, due to its long history of discontinuity and the popularity of modern medicine, the local large-scale cultivation and its corresponding downstream industries seem to have lost sight. Therefore, we collected seeds from the field and markets in the city of Chiayi as the starting materials in the present study. The seeds were germinated in a solid medium containing MS (Murashige & Skoog 1962) basic salts, and then the germinated shoot apex and cotyledons were cut out from the seedlings as explants. Subsequently, 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) was used to induce multiple shoots. The resulting shoots were cut into single pieces and cultured in the media of 1/2 MS basic salts supplemented with 4-(indol-3-yl) butyric acid for root formation. Finally, the whole plant was transplanted out of the bottle for soil-based growth. Seeds were harvested and semi-purified by acid extraction. The content of harmine was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results indicate that productive rue plants can be successfully preserved using tissue culture technology, and the presence of harmine alkaloids can also be confirmed from the seeds.