Studies on in vitro induced mutagenesis in Nyctanthes arbor tristis Linn

Abstract

The plants and plant-based products have been playing a significant role in human survival since their origin and human history exist because almost all plants possess medicinal and nutraceutical value. Among them, medicinal plants have been explored for harmonizing therapies for sustainable livelihood, conceivably known as medicinal herbalism (Chaturvedi and Jamir, 2007). Plant-based therapy has been an integral part of ayurvedic and homoeopathic system medicines of the developing world for primary health care because of their safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability, better compatibility with the human body and lesser side effects. With the development of knowledge and scientific explorations now-a-days, people have inclined towards conventional herbal medicines. Thus, there is a considerable demand for plant parts of medicinal species at a suitable developmental stage. According to FAO, it has been estimated that over 7500 plant species are extensively used in India for herbal product preparation (AICEP, 1994; Singh and Anthropological Survey of India, 1994). Hence, there is a necessity to conserve and propagate medicinal plants used in herbal drug preparations. Biotechnological tools are important for the multiplication, conservation, and genetic improvement of medicinal plants by adopting techniques such as in vitro regeneration, cryopreservation, in vitro mutagenesis, genetic transformation and so on (Tripathi and Tripathi, 2003) newline