In Vitro Propagation and Secondary Metabolite Production from Withania Somnifera (L.) Dunal

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Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, commonly known as ashwagandha or Indian ginseng, is an important medicinal plant that belongs to the family Solanaceae. Ashwagandha has been used from time immemorial in different systems of medicine and extensively used in the Indian system of medicine, and there is discussion of this plant in different ayurvedic scripts like Charaka samhita, Ashtanga sangraha, etc. The plant is extensively used for anti-aging and general well-being, and also has anti-cancer potential. Ashwagandha is also known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other therapeutic activities. In the recent days of Covid-19, the plant has been extensively used as an immunostimulant. The plant has great potential for its raw materials, especially for the extraction of bioactive molecules like withanolide-A, withaferin-A, withasomniferin, withanone, etc. The conventional mode of propagation could not meet the required commercial demand for either the pharmaceutical industries or the traditional practitioners. The conventional method of obtaining biomass is influenced by a large number of environmental factors, where biomass quality and quantity of bioactive molecules have shown variation. To overcome this, biotechnological approaches such as plant tissue culture techniques have been established for large-scale cultivation using micropropagation and also other techniques like a callus and cell suspension culture, shoot culture, adventitious root culture, and hairy root culture have been extensively used for in vitro production of bioactive molecules from ashwagandha. With the advent of metabolic engineering, biosynthetic pathway editing has made it possible to obtain higher yields of desired metabolites. The present chapter focuses on the in vitro propagation, biosynthesis of withanolides, and tissue culture strategies for obtaining high biomass and metabolites. The chapter also focuses on different elicitation strategies, metabolic engineering approaches, and the development of elite germplasms for improved metabolite content. The chapter also identifies research lacunas that need to be addressed for the sustainable production of important bioactive molecules from ashwagandha.