Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species

Healing power of plants is known since long & is attributed to presence of secondary metabolites. These exert influence on the physiology of microbes & animals, serve as defense mechanisms for plants & are utilized in medicine as therapeutic agents. This knowledge has excited scientific community about their possible exploitation providing new vistas for drug development. Even with contemporary advances in synthetic organic chemistry plants are the main source of over 25% of all medicines. Using 3000 years old traditional knowledge of ayurvedas from India a large number of plants have been screened for their chemical constituents & pharmacologically active compounds. With an increase in dreaded diseases associated with luxurious life style the demand of natural products is increasing. Biotechnological alternatives hold great promise for meeting the demand. Still there are many species to be investigated for their phytoconstituents. In present study 3 plants of the Malwa region of India Abelmoschus moschatus, Chlorophytum borivilianum & Vernonia cinerea were selected. Major objectives include in vitro propagation, isolation & purification of bioactive compounds from them.