Abstract

IN-VITRO REGENERATION OF STEVIA REBAUDIANA BERTONI AND SCREENING OF BIOACTIVE PRINCIPAL COMPOUNDS

Rashmi Arnold and Seema Tiwari*

Abstract

Plants are considered as a significant source of new medicines. Bioactive compounds in plants can be defined as secondary plant metabolites eliciting pharmacological or toxicological effects in man and animals. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a small perennial herb with green leaves that belongs to the aster (Asteraceae) or chrysanthemum family of plants. The leaf of this plant is the main attraction for its economic and commercial uses because of its valuable quality of extreme sweetness particularly with the presence of the main active constituents Stevioside and rebaudioside A. Plant tissue culture techniques have been increasingly applied to many medicinal plants in particular for mass propagation, conservation of germplasm, study and production of bioactive compounds, and for genetic improvement. Medicinal plants have a vast genetic diversity, which is a valuable source of agronomic genes of interest for the future. Large-scale plant tissue culture is found to be an attractive alternative approach to the traditional methods of plantations.

Keywords: Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, Stevioside, rebaudioside, Micropropagation etc.