InvitrostudiesonPaederiafoetida L a valuable medicinal plant

Abstract

Paederia foetida L. (Family: Rubiaceae), commonly known as Skunk vine or StinkvineorChinese fevervine, isa perennial,twining plantthat emitsa displeasing odour due to the presence of methyl mercaptan in its leaves and stems. The plant has immense medicinal potential and is known for its various folkloric medicinal usages. The leaf of the plant is widely used by the tribal people of India and Bangladesh for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorder including dysentery, diarrhoea, gastritis, abdominal pain and flatulence. The plant is also useful for the relief of other ailment such as rheumatism, arthritis, piles, and toothache. Various studies on biological activities of P. foetida also validate its medicinal potential which includes antidiarrhoeal, gastro-protective, anti-arthritic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities.Theleavesarereportedtohaveantioxidantpropertiesalso. newlineThis valuable medicinal plant, P. foetida, is under stress in its natural habitat due to anthropogenic activities such as unsustainable harvesting by local medical practitioners, deforestation, urbanization, and habitat fragmentation. Rightly, this plant has been enlisted as a vulnerable plant in some states of India including Odisha. In fact, it has been placed among 41 conservation concern plant species of Odisha. The conventional propagation of P. foetida through seeds and stem cuttings has their own limitations and is not adequate to meet the demand of the plant and plant material. Therefore, in vitro propagation through plant tissue culture can be an alternate wayto produce this medicinallyimportant plant species in large scale. Thus, the major objective of this thesis was to develop different efficient plant regeneration protocols of P. foetida for constant supply of planting materials for reintroduction in wild and to provide raw materials with the uniform quality for pharmaceutical uses without disturbing the natural populations. Here, three different protocols for regeneration of complete plantlets by axillary shoot proliferati