Abstract
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal known as Ashwagandha is commonly used in traditional Indian medicine system. It possesses immense therapeutic value against a large number of ailments such as mental diseases, asthma, inflammation, arthritis, rheumatism, tuberculosis, and a variety of other diseases including cancer. The therapeutic potential of W. somnifera is due to the presence of secondary metabolites mainly, tropane alkaloids and withanolides (steroidal lactones). The growing realization of commercial value of the plant has initiated a new demand for in vitro propagation of elite chemotypes of Withania. Micropropagation which is an important tool for rapid multiplication requires optimization of number of factors such as nutrient medium, status of medium (solid and liquid), type of explant, and plant growth regulators. Similarly, an efficient and reproducible in vitro regeneration system which is a prerequisite for the development of genetic transformation protocol requires precise manipulation of various intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India under DBT-AIST, Japan collaboration program, and DST-INSPIRE programme.
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Singh, P., Guleri, R., Pati, P.K. (2016). In Vitro Propagation of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. In: Jain, S. (eds) Protocols for In Vitro Cultures and Secondary Metabolite Analysis of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Second Edition. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1391. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3332-7_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3332-7_14
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Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3332-7
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