Plant stem cells and their applications: special emphasis on their marketed products

Abstract

Stem cells are becoming increasingly popular in public lexicon owing to their prospective applications in the biomedical and therapeutic domains. Extensive research has found various independent stem cell systems fulfilling specific needs of plant development. Plant stem cells are innately undifferentiated cells present in the plant’s meristematic tissues. Such cells have various commercial uses, wherein cosmetic manufacture involving stem cell derivatives is the most promising field at present. Scientific evidence suggests anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties possessed by various plants such as grapes (Vitis vinifera), lilacs (Syringa vulgaris), Swiss apples (Uttwiler spatlauber) etc. are of great importance in terms of cosmetic applications of plant stem cells. There are widespread uses of plant stem cells and their extracts. The products so formulated have a varied range of applications which included skin whitening, de-tanning, moisturizing, cleansing etc. Despite all the promising developments, the domain of plant stem cells remains hugely unexplored. This article presents an overview of the current scenario of plant stem cells and their applications in humans.