Abstract

FORMULATION AND ASSESSMENT OF BIOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY OF XEROPHYTIC PLANTS: NERIUM OLEANDER AND THEVETIA PERUVIANA BELONGS TO FAMILY APOCYNACEAE

Garima Zibbu and Amla Batra

Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

ABSTRACT

The traditional medicines involve the use of different plant extracts and the bioactive constituents. Secondary metabolites are responsible for medicinal activity of plants (Savithramma et al., 2011). There is a wide range of compounds from different metabolite families that can be highly inducible in response to stresses. The flavonoids, one of the most numerous and wide spread groups of natural secondary constituents, important to man because they contribute that many members are physiologically active (Rajendran, 2011). Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites from intact plant, plant parts and tissue cultures has gained increasing attention over the years. This has led to the exploration of cell cultures for the biosynthesis of a variety of natural products. High concentrations of secondary metabolites might result in a more resistant plant. Their production is thought to be costly and reduces plant growth and reproduction (Simms, 1992; Karban and Baldwin, 1997; Harvell and Tollrian, 1999; Stotz et al., 1999; Siemens et al., 2002).

Keywords: Traditional medicines, plant, flavonoid