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In Vitro Conservation Strategies for Gloriosa superba L.: An Endangered Medicinal Plant

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Biotechnological Approaches for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

Abstract

The immense value of plants remains in their incredible potential, a bit of which has been discovered till now and ample still remains to be discovered. The capacity of plants to produce a diverse array of unique chemical compounds attracts the attention of researchers and pharma industry towards the advantage of procuring these biological compounds as medicines for human health. Gloriosa superba L., the plant of enormous medicinal importance, has been listed among the endangered plants a few decades back. The plant is exploited for the colchicine which adds a characteristic feature to the medicinal value of this seasonal herb. Biotechnological approaches involve several efficient and cost-effective techniques which further resulted in the manipulation of this endangered plant to enhance its yield. Even the use of callus culture, cell suspension and hairy roots recommends coherent and productive formula for conservation and production of colchicine so as to fulfil the increasing demands of the pharma industry. The chapter reviews the in vitro propagation and conservation efforts made by several workers to increase and maintain the germplasm and isolation of colchicine from in vitro grown cultures.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Ritu Mahajan, Pallavi Billowaria & Nisha Kapoor

Authors
  1. Ritu Mahajan
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  2. Pallavi Billowaria
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  3. Nisha Kapoor
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Panchanpur, Gaya, Bihar, India

    Nitish Kumar

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Mahajan, R., Billowaria, P., Kapoor, N. (2018). In Vitro Conservation Strategies for Gloriosa superba L.: An Endangered Medicinal Plant. In: Kumar, N. (eds) Biotechnological Approaches for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0535-1_22

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