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Propagation of medicinal plants today is a promising alternative and counterpoint to wild collection, enabling preservation of natural genetic variability and survival of rare, endemic and endangered species, and it also provides quality raw material for pharmaceutical industries. Biotechnological methods like in vitro propagation technique hold tremendous potential for the production of high-quality plant-based medicines, which is an effective tool to conserve plant genes and guarantee the survival of the desired genotype, emphasised to make use of small units (cells and tissues) without losing their mother plant, thereby taking the pressure off from the waning wild populations and deriving a large number of plants in a very short time. Micropropagation protocols have worked out for many plant species cultured in vitro to provide macro – and micro-mineral nutrients, vitamins, source of carbohydrates under appropriate environmental conditions (light intensity, photoperiod and temperature) and plant growth regulators required to obtain high regeneration rates. In addition to the in vitro regeneration, germplasm conservation, reinforcement of genetic diversity and eco-rehabilitation of the waning medicinal plant taxa, it is very important to conserve and augment the resource supply. This chapter offers a brief insight into the status of micropropagation and mass multiplication strategies of elite genotypes, zygotic embryo cryopreservation of medicinal tree species and exploitation and utilisation of this technology for the conservation and ecorestoration of threatened or over-exploited medicinal plants in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Ghats, India. |
