Micropropagation and conservation of Rheum webbianum collected from Zanaskar valley via tissue culture

Abstract

Rheum webbianum is one of the famous and popular medicinal plant found in Ladakh region. Rheum webbianum Royle is an important medicinal plant belonging to the family Polygonaceae. It is commonly known as ‘Himalayan Rhubarb’ in English, ‘Revandchini’ in Hindi, ‘xu mi da huang’ in Chinese, and ‘Lachhu’ or ‘Chu-rtsa’ in Ladakh. It is native to Asia-Temperate to Asia-Tropical, from China to India, Nepal and Pakistan. In India, it is found in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh. In Jammu and Kashmir, it is grown on open slopes and shrubberies. Due to overexploitation the Rheum webbianum has become endangered. so, it was conserved by the tissue culture and showed best results on different phytohormones. The plant formation was observed on combination of 6-Benzyl Amino Purine, Thidiazuron, 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and Indole 3-butyric acid.