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Effect of Medium Composition on Callus Morphology from different explants of the Medicinally Important Pantropical weed Phyllanthus amarus Schum and Thonn
Authors: Iyengar Krishnaveni1, Sarangi BK3, Khubalkar Nirankush1, Kotwal Swati 2
Number of views: 499
Phyllanthus amarus is a widely distributed pan-tropical herb under an angiosperm family Phyllanthaceae. It is an erect annual herb10 to 50cm high with a smooth cylindrical stem 1.5 to 2mm thick. The leaves are alternate on petioles 0.3 to 0.5mm long elliptic, oblong or obovate. The phytochemicals of value present in this herb are: lignans, flavonoids, hydrolysable tannins, polyphenols, triterpenes, sterols and alkaloids.The extracts and compounds isolated from P.amarus show a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities including antiviral, antibacterial, antiplasmodial, anti-inflammatory anti-malarial, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, hepatoprotec- tive, nephroprotective and diuretic properties. It is an excellent medicine for gallstones and jaundice. It is also an excellent shampoo. During the second half of 20th Century there was a rapid, parallel and synergistic development of the Allopathic and Ayurvedic systems of medicine in India. It generated commercial demand for pharmaceutical drugs of plant origin. Using advanced biotechnological methods for culturing plant cell and tissue would provide new means of conserving a rapidly propagating valuable, rare and endangered medicinal plant. Besides preventing the depletion of stocks of wild plants due to indiscriminate harvesting, tissue culture can be helpful in increasing the quality of the product extracted from plant. Tissue culture is one of the ways by which plant material in pure form can be supplied continuously.