In vitro culture studies of Cardiospermum halicacabum L.

Plant tissue culture is a branch of plant biotechnology which works on the principle that all plants have “totipotency”. Plant tissue culture has become especially important in the agricultural community over the past many years. During this time period, plant tissue culture have effectively moved from the confines of small laboratories and has taken its place among main stream, broad scale techniques employed by the horticulture and agricultural industry. Now, it has direct commercial applications as well as value in basic research, cell biology, genetics and biochemistry. Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (Sapindaceae) is an important medicinal herb and its natural reserves are declining due to overexploitation for its medicinal uses. Therefore it is a prerequisite to morphologically and histologically characterize the calli and to develop a rapid method for large scale propagation of C. halicacabum. This will help in fulfilling Pharmaceutical industrial demand of high quality and also for sustainable conservation of C. halicacabum. It is hoped that the book would be useful to teachers, students and research workers and will generate enough interest to inspire the inquisitive mind.