Micropropagation and Acclimatization of Globba bicolor Gagnep. with Phytochemical Profiling and Antioxidant Evaluation

Globba bicolor Gagnep., an ornamental ginger of cultural importance in Thailand’s “Tak Bat Dok Mai” festival, faces conservation challenges due to climate change and slow natural propagation. Limited understanding of its cultivation and chemical composition further constrains sustainable utilization. This study provides the first integrated investigation of micropropagation using rhizome-derived explants under various combinations of exogenous hormones, acclimatization strategies, and comparative phytochemical profiling between wild and in vitro-propagated plants. An optimized clonal regeneration system was established from plantlets, with Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 2.0 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 0.5 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), yielding the highest multiplication (9.10 shoots/explant and 12.40 roots/explant) after eight weeks of cultivation. During acclimatization, sand substrate proved superior, facilitating a 90% survival rate and enhanced physiological vigor. Comparative analysis revealed that while wild plants possessed significantly higher total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) contents and antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP) than their in vitro counterparts, both sources maintained a rich diversity of chemical constituents. HPLC analysis identified cinnamic acid, rutin, and quercetin as major metabolites, while GC–MS detected 90 volatile compounds, with β-caryophyllene and β-pinene as predominant constituents. Notably, rhizomes of wild plants exhibited particularly high-value detections. To provide a rapid and non-destructive approach for linking chemical composition with antioxidant activity, FTIR-based chemometric models were applied, demonstrating high predictive accuracy (R2–cv = 0.9712–0.9862). These results provide a scientific foundation for the conservation and sustainable commercial utilization of G. bicolor as a potential source of bioactive natural products.