Medicinal Plants Culture

Plant bioactive compounds are plant-based natural products that display a variety of pharmacological applications. These bioactive compounds are important as medicines, pigments and flavorings since most of the pharmaceutical industries are highly dependent on medicinal plants and their extraction. The types and concentrations of bioactive compounds produced by plants are determined by the species, genotype, physiology, developmental stage and environmental factors during growth, determining the physiological adaptive responses employed by various plant taxonomic groups in coping with the stress and defensive stimuli. In the past two decades there has been a renewed interest in the study of conventional aspects such as elicitors and biotic and abiotic stress factors that influence secondary metabolism during in vitro and in vivo growth of plants. the application of molecular biology tools and techniques are facilitating increased understanding of the signaling processes and pathways involved in the bioactive compounds production in subcellular, cellular, organ and whole plant systems during in vivo and in vitro growth, with application in the metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathways intermediates.

This book covers interesting research topics and the use of natural resources for medical treatments in some severe diseases. The most important message is to have native foods which contain high amount of active compounds that can be used as a medicinal plant. Most pharmaceutical drugs were discovered from plants, and still ongoing research will have to predict such new active compounds as anti-diseases.