Micropropagation and conservation of selected endangered anticancer medicinal plants from the Western Ghats of India

Globally, cancer is a constant battle which severely affects the human population. The major limitations of the anticancer drugs are the deleterious side effects on the quality of life. Plants play a vital role in curing many diseases with minimal or no side effects. Phytocompounds derived from various medicinal plants serve as the best source of drugs to treat cancer. The global demand for phytomedicines is mostly reached by the medicinal herbs from the tropical nations of the world even though many plant species are threatened with extinction. India is one of the mega diverse countries of the world due to its ecological habitats, latitudinal variation, and diverse climatic range. Western Ghats of India is one of the most important depositories of endemic herbs. It is found along the stretch of south western part of India and constitutes rain forest with more than 4000 diverse medicinal plant species. In recent times, many of these therapeutically valued herbs have become endangered and are being included under the red-listed plant category in this region. Due to a sharp rise in the demand for plant-based products, this rich collection is diminishing at an alarming rate that eventually triggered dangerous to biodiversity. Thus, conservation of the endangered medicinal plants has become a matter of importance. The conservation by using only in situ approaches may not be sufficient enough to safeguard such a huge bio-resource of endangered medicinal plants. Hence, the use of biotechnological methods would be vital to complement the ex vitro protection programs and help to reestablish endangered plant species. In this backdrop, the key tools of biotechnology that could assist plant conservation were developed in terms of in vitro regeneration, seed banking, DNA storage, pollen storage, germplasm storage, gene bank (field gene banking), tissue bank, and cryopreservation. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review major endangered medicinal plants that possess anticancer compounds and their conservation aspects by integrating various biotechnological tool

BUTTERFLIES NECTAR FOOD PLANTS FROM GLENMORGAN, THE NILGIRIS, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

ABSTRACT: Butterflies are important components of biodiversity and play an important role in the food chain of a forest ecosystem. An attempt was being made to enumerate the butterfly nectar food plants in Glenmorgan, Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu. The present study has been aimed to explore the floral attributes of nectar feeding butterflies in relation to relative abundance. A total of 65 species of butterflies belonging to 5 families were recorded as flower visitor and nectar feeding on 84 species of plants belong to 69 genera and 30 families. The highest number of butterflies belonging to the family Nymphalidae 26 species, Pieridae 14 species, Lycaenidae 13 species, Hesperiidae and Papilionidae with 6 species. Plant visitors of different butterfly species varied considerably; while some were highly seasonal, others had staggered for flowering and vegetative habitats

Wild habits of Kolli Hills being staple food of inhabitant tribes of eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

432-437There is a proverb in Tamil that “Foods are medicines” “Medicines are foods”. Still it is being maintained by the folks, whose food habits depends on wild habits. Hence, the present study emphasis the documentation of traditional knowledge of Malayalis folks pertaining to their food habits which is necessary for the benefit of mankind. A survey has been made and identified 38 wild species belonging to 21 families. The roots, rhizomes and tubers of these plants are not only used as foods but are also consumed to maintain their health status. Thus these plants are used for general medicinal purposes also. Most of the tubers and roots are consumed after cooking, while some of them are eaten raw. Botanical name, family, vernacular name, life form/habit, parts used for food and medicine, mode of preparation and consumption are recorded for each species

In vitro propagation of a rare succulent medicinal plant Caralluma diffusa (Wight) N.E.Br

Caralluma diffusa (Wight) N.E.Br is rare and an endemic medicinally important plantbelonging to the family Asclepiadaceae. A cost effective and efficient protocol has beendescribed in the present work for large scale and rapid propagation through in vitro organogenesis using nodal explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) media fortifiedwith BAP, 2,4-D, NAA and Kn. The highest frequency ( 83.3%) of callus was observed in MSmedium containing NAA (2mg/L) in combination with BAP (0.5mg/L) + Kn (0.25mg/L).Development of highest percentage of shoot organogenesis (82.4%) occurred when the calliwere sub cultured in MS medium supplemented with combination of BAP + NAA + Kn (2.0+ 0.5 + 0.25mg/L). Multiple shoots were induced from the nodal segments cultured onmedium containing BAP or Kn alone or in combination. Highest number of shoots(6.40±0.34) and maximum length of shoots (6.61±1.01cm) were obtained on MS mediumcontaining BAP (2.5mg/L). These shoots were then cultured on half strength MS mediumsupplemented with various concentrations of IBA and NAA. Highest percentage of rooting(78.4%) and mean length of rootlets was observed on IBA (0.5mg/L) in combination withNAA (0.5mg/L). In vitro derived plantlets were hardened and acclimatized. About 98% ofplantlets survived in field condition. The method described here can be successfully employed for large scale multiplication, long term in vitro conservation. This is the firstreport on indirect organogenesis of universally threatened cacti C. diffusa

Micropropagation prospective of cotyledonary explants of <i>Decalepis hamiltonii</i> Wight & Arn.—An endangered edible species

256-260The study was undertaken to standardize the development of callus, shoot and root regeneration from cotyledonary explant of Decalepis hamiltonii Wight & Arn. through the tissue culture techniques. The MS medium supplemented with 6-benzyl amino purine (BA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), kinetin (Kn), gibberelic acid (GA3), indole acetic acid (IAA), indole butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) was used for callus, shoot and root regeneration. The maximum percentage (82.0%)of callus formation was achieved on 0.5 mg/L BA in combination with 0.05 mg/L Kn, followed by 78.5% of callus formation on 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D fortified with 0.05 mg/L Kn. The highest shoot proliferation (4.6 shoots/callus) and shoot length (6.9 cm) was achieved on 1.0 mg/L BA combined with 0.1 mg/L GA3, followed by 3.8 shoots per callus and 5.8 cm shoot length on 1.0 mg/L IAA combined with 0.1 mg/L GA3. The highest root formation (38.2 roots/shoot) and root length (11.8cm) was achieved on ½ strength MS medium fortified with 0.4 mg/L IBA, followed by 36.5 roots per shoot and root length of 10.7 cm on 0.4 mg/L NAA. The well-developed rooted plantlets were hardened in the mixtures of forest soil, soil and vermiculite (1:1:1) and 97.5% plantlets survived after hardening