LAUSR

Withania somnifera (Dunal) popularly known as Ashwagandha, “Winter Cherry” and “Indian Ginseng”. Its roots and leaves are used in a number of preparations for their anti-infl ammatory, anticonvulsive, antitumor properties besides promoting vigour and stamina. Ashwagandha contains very high concentration of metabolites like steroidal lactones (Withanolides), alkaloids and fl avonoids, so it is used in more than 200 commercially ayurvedic formulations. The annual requirement of Withania sominifera in India is about 9127 MT where as the estimated production in India is only 5905 MT. This requirement can be met by mass cultivation of adventitious roots using bioreactors. Adventitious roots induced by this form are considered to be genetically uniform, true to its type that gives rise to mass production of desired pharmaceutical compound. Seeds of varieties like Jawahar Ashwagandh-20 (JA-20), Arka Ashwagandha (AA), IIHR WS-48 and IIHR WS-32 have been raised in in-vitro conditions. Adventitious roots were induced from in-vitro leaves by varying factors. Half strength MS medium yielded more roots than full strength MS medium, combination of IAA and IBA (ranging from 0.025-0.01mg/l) were found to be ideal for adventitious root induction for each variety. Sucrose concentration (3-4%) in half strength MS media yielded more adventitious roots, with a light intensity of 16 hours photoperiod than darkness.