Monday 21 March 2011

Micropropagation And Phytochemical studies in myrmelachista hoffmanni

Plants are critical to other life on this planet because they form the basis of all food webs. Most plants are autotrophic, creating their own food using water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight through a process called photosynthesis.
The use of plants for medicinal purposes starts from pre-historic times. The cumulative knowledge of tribal and herbal practitioners and millions of housewives flow into a main stream, which emerged as Indian system of medicine, called Ayurveda. The modern medicine is analogous to the fire fighting system.
The green plants are the storehouses of many chemical components (phytochemicals). They' have a special capability of converting simpler inorganic compounds into complex organic compounds, which are used for several metabolic activities called metabolites (Horton and Moran, 1996) .Metabolites of plants, are grouped into two categories namely primary metabolites and secondary metabolites
Medicinal plants are the richest and most valuable natural resources.
They are the main ingredients of local medicines and are of vital importance in traditional healthcare.
It is necessary to identify these medicinal plants.
India is blessed with a lot of such plants and scientific knowledge about them can help us to lead a healthy life.
The primary metabolites are used for the growth of plants and also for their survival. But secondary metabolites don't play a considerable role in the growth of the plant. Secondary metabolites are the substances, which are produced by plants as defence chemicals. It includes Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Phenols , Terpenes, Steroids, Saponins etc.

Systematic position (Acc. Engler & Prantl )

Class : Dicotyledonae
Sub-class : Metachlamydeae
Order : Tubiflorae
Family : Gesneriaceae
Genus : Didymocarpus
Species : tomentosa

uses:
Literature not much available.

However, habitat is very peculiar. It is a plant growing over the humus collected in the crevices of rocks, sheltered by the boulders. So it is a lithophyte.

In a Ayurvedic book, these type of plants are stated as diuretic. So, it may have some medicinal value.

research plan:

The proposed work will be carried out at the Department of Biotechnology, Government College, Bengaluru and if necessary facilities available in other research institutes would be utilized.
The study involves:
Collection of plant material from the habitat.
Study on in-vitro culturing techniques, which includes selection of explants, standardization of media and maintenance of culture.
Hot Extraction of crude plant extracts from different plant parts using suitable solvents and concentration.
Purification of crude extracts using chromatographic techniques and Antimicrobial studies.
Standard protocols recommended for research will be employed in all these studies.


results:In vitro studies :
Organogeneis : - a. Direct
b. Indirect
Somatic Embryogenesis.
Somaclonal variation.
Phytochemistry :
Screening and Selection of Secondary Metabolites by different methods.
Indentifying the effective compounds having the antimicrobial activity.

finally results:

Identifying the potentiality of the plant and Providing an alternative source of

Pashanabedha.