In vitro approaches for conservation and sustainable utilization of podophyllum hexandrum and picrorhiza kurroa: Endangered medicinal herbs of Western Himalaya

Abstract

The western Himalaya is a rich repository of unique plants that are valued for their medicinal properties. Many of these plants are extensively utilized in pharmaceutical industries, and there is a huge global demand for them. Since most of these plants have become either rare, threatened, or endangered, there is an urgent need to conserve them. Podophyllum hexandrum and Picrorhiza kurroa are two endangered medicinal herbs that are being ruthlessly uprooted for their active principles, i.e., podophyllotoxins and picrosides, respectively. Hence, different plant tissue culture approaches have been employed for their conservation and sustainable utilization. The successes achieved till date in these approaches have been reviewed in the present article.