Biotechnology of Medicinal Plants in Taiwan: Studies on In Vitro Propagation and Influence of Ventilation Closures on Hyperhydricity in Cultures

Medicinal plants have played a significant role in maintaining human health and improving the quality of life for thousands of years. In the past few decades, there has been an exponential rise in demand for herbal medicines, which in turn has resulted in an overexploitation and dwindling supply of medicinal plants in the wild. Therefore, it is imperative to explore all possible modes of plant propagation and large-scale cultivation. Taiwan is the home of many highly valued medicinal herbs used in the traditional Chinese medicines. In our laboratories, for more than two decades, tissue culture techniques have been used successfully for the propagation of several medicinally important plant species. The present article reviews the studies carried out on in vitro propagation of selected medicinal plants in Taiwan (Glossogyne tenuifolia, Saussurea involucrata, Gentiana scabra, and Drynaria fortunei). The article also includes the studies on induction of somatic embryogenesis in medicinal herb Peucedanum japonicum and influence of different ventilation closures on hyperhydricity (vitrification) in cultures of Scrophularia yoshimurae, Bupleurum kaoi, Gentiana scabra, and Glossogyne tenuifolia.