Callus culture was initiated from leaf discs on MS supplemented with BAP, NAA and Kn. The highest frequency (95%) of organogenic callus induction was observed in MS containing BAP at 3.0 mg/l and NAA at 0.3 mg/l. Development of adventitious shoots occurred when the calli were subcultured on MS supplemented with BAP alone at the rate of 3.0 mg/l (80%) and BAP with NAA at the rate of 3.0 and 0.3 mg/l, respectively (95%) and BAP with Kn at the rate of 3.0 and 0.3 mg/l, respectively (70%). The root initiation and the rate of growth were higher in the basal medium containing BAP at 3.0 and 2.5 mg/l. The plantlets were establish successfully in the hardening medium composed by coir pith and soil (1 : 1).

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out to collect information from the Malayali tribes of Jawadhu hills, Thiruvannamalai district, Tamilnadu, India from August 2016 to July 2017. A total of 63 plant species belonging to 32 families were distributed into 55 genera, which were commonly used by the local Malayali tribes for the treatment of various diseases such as headaches, fevers, asthma, coughs, colds, wounds, snake bites, piles, stomach disorders, skin diseases, gastric ulcers, kidney stones, urinary infection, diabetes, jaundice, inflammation etc. In the present study, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Amaranthaceae, and Asclepiadaceae are the most dominant families used in the treatment of various ailments. Generally, leaves are used to prepare herbal medicine. The ethnomedicinal plants used by the Malayali tribes were arranged alphabetically followed by botanical name, family, local name, medicinal uses and mode of administration.

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The present study describes an efficient plant regeneration system for in vitro propagation of Phyllanthus virgatus through leaf explant. The leaf explants were cultured on Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with BAP (1.5 mg L-1) and NAA (0.9 mg L-1 for efficient callus induction (82.26%). The maximum percentage of shoots (77.85%) was developed from BAP (2.0 mg L-1) and GA3 (0.5 mg L-1). The efficient rooting response (76.28%) was noted on a nutrient medium containing NAA (1.5 mg L-1) and IBA (0.2 mg L-1). Regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized and hardened off inside the culture room and then transferred to green house with a 72% survival rate.