Assessment of seed biology of the Himalayan medicinal herb Phytolacca acinosa Roxb., the Indian pokeweed, from the perspective of longevity, conservation and propagation

Vegetative propagation of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. by rhizome cuttings: a step towards conservation and cultivation approach

“…In the traditional medicine system, it is widely employed to treat eye disorders, body aches, swelling, edema, sores, and as a diuretic drug (Basnet and Kalauni, 2020). Rhizomes of P. acinosa contain numerous bioactive compounds, including chochliophilin (A and B), hypaphorine, esculentosides, b-sitosterol, monoglyceride, daucosterol, phytolacacinoside (A, B, and E), phytolaccoside (A, B, and E), esculentoside G, and palmitic acid (Gao et al, 2009;Krishan et al, 2022;Li et al, 2023). Consequently, it serves as an important medicinal herb with diverse pharmacological properties like antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-oxidative, anticancer, immunity-enhancing, anti-parasitic, and insecticidal properties (Gao et al, 2009;Cheng et al, 2017;Bailly, 2021).…”

“…Consequently, it serves as an important medicinal herb with diverse pharmacological properties like antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-oxidative, anticancer, immunity-enhancing, anti-parasitic, and insecticidal properties (Gao et al, 2009;Cheng et al, 2017;Bailly, 2021). It has been reported to exhibit cytotoxicity in human cancer cell lines and antimicrobial activity in bacterial culture (Ma et al, 2017(Ma et al, , 2019Krishan et al, 2022). Besides being used as medicine, P. acinosa is also used as a source of food, red dye for coloring wool fabric, and for phytoremediation of heavy metals like cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) (Zhao et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2022).…”