Oroxylum indicum (L) Kurz is a medicinal forest tree with therapeutically
active principles owing to its anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiulcer,
anti-arthiritic, and anti-angiogenic properties and known to be employed in ayurveda,
Unani and folk medicine. Due to the possession of biologically active constituents, the
tree is uprooted for the isolation of phytoconstituents and preparation of drugs from
different parts of a tree and is over-exploited by pharmaceutical industries. Hence the
tree is becoming an endangered species. In view of the above, this medicinally
important tree species needs conservation and also thorough study on its medicinal
properties. In vitro culture methodologies have to be employed for large-scale
production and to know the importance and the activity of various chemical
components of this valuable medicinal tree, as this knowledge plays a vital role in the
conservation and synthesis of active principles with specific activity to treat various
ailments. The present review focuses on the published data on conservation and also
phytochemical studies of O. indicum to highlight the traditional usage of this tree
species in various health disorders and also to conserve the tree using various in vitro
culture techniques for its large-scale production.
Keywords: In vitro culture studies, Micropropagation, Oroxylum indicum, Phytochemical constituents.
