Medicinal plants form an important source for a wide variety of natural products used in the treatment of a various types of diseases like cancer, hypertension, malaria, AIDS etc. These drugs possess a complex organic structure with several chiral centres and are difficult to synthesise in the laboratory. On the contrary, plants accumulate these products with ease under natural conditions. This in turn has resulted in the exploitation of several medicinal plants for the production and export of life saving drugs. In the case of the anticancer drug camptothecin, commercial production is from Camptotheca acuminata & Nothapodytes foetida. Many trees are uprooted from the natural flora and used for camptothecin production. BARC has developed a technology for micropropagation of Ophiorrhiza rugosa which offers a continuous source of numerous uniform size plants throughout the year.

1. Rapid multiplication of uniform or true type plants.
2. Requirement of limited number of explant.
3. Disease free planting material.
4. Plants in nature, survive only for 8-9 months whereas the present technology represents a continuous and a reproducible method for mass multiplication of Ophiorrhiza rugosa as a sustainable source of anti-cancer drug Camptothecin.

1. Agriculture sector.
2. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
3. Plant nurseries.

Medicinal plants form an important source for a wide variety of natural products used in the treatment of a various types of diseases like cancer, hypertension, malaria, AIDS etc. These drugs possess a complex organic structure with several chiral centres and are difficult to synthesise in the laboratory. On the contrary, plants accumulate these products with ease under natural conditions. This in turn has resulted in the exploitation of several medicinal plants for the production and export of life saving drugs. In the case of the anticancer drug camptothecin, commercial production is from Camptotheca acuminata and Nothapodytes foetida. Many trees are uprooted from the natural flora and used for camptothecin production. BARC has developed a rapid, continuous and renewable method for multiplication of Ophiorrhiza rugosa as a sustainable source of anti-cancer drug camptothecin.

1. The method is reproducible.
2. High levels of camptothecin can be obtained during a short period of time.
3. Plants, in nature survive only for 8-9 months whereas the present technology represents a continuous and a reproducible method for multiplication of Ophiorrhiza rugosa.

1. The method is useful to multiply elite medicinal plants which in turn help in the conservation and preservation of endangered medicinal plants that are becoming rare and extinct in the natural habitat due to overexploitation.
2. This technology can be taken up by biotech and pharmaceutical companies already engaged in medicinal plant based research.

RAW MATERIALS

1. Plant parts of Ophiorrhiza rugosa.
2. Chemicals:MS medium and hormones used in this protocol is available locally.

EQUIPMENTS

1. Autoclave
2. Laminar air-flow unit
3. Water distillation unit
4. pH meter
5. Analytical balance
6. Refrigerator
7. Standard laboratory glasswares

SPACE

1. Standard tissue culture laboratory: A small room of 400 sq. ft. area (20 ft x 20 ft) with routine tissue culture facilities.
2. Culture room (100 sqft): clean, air conditioned and well illuminated room to grow the cultures.

POWER

1. Both single & three phase power connection.

MANPOWER

1. Two skilled technicians for preparing medium and tissue culture work.