BEPLS Vol 11 [2] January 2022 115 | P age ©2022 AELS, INDIA Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences Bull. Env.Pharmacol. Life Sci., Vol 11[2] January 2022 : 115-118 ©2022 Academy for Environment and Life Sciences, India Online ISSN 2277-1808 Journal’s URL:http://www.bepls.com CODEN: BEPLAD ORIGINAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS In Vitro Plant Propagation of Withania somnifera by using Shoot Culture Sweety Singh and Shivani Singh Department of Botany, Narain College, Shikohabad Firozabad-283135 Email id- dr.ssingh08@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT In the present work in vitro propagation of a multipurpose medicinal plant, Withania somnifera was done. Direct regeneration of nodal explants and their multiplication have been optimized using cytokinin BAP (0.5-5.0 mg/l) and combination of BAP (0.5 mg/l) + IAA (1.0-3.0 mg/l) respectively. MS media with nodal explants supplemented with BAP (2.0 mg/l) produced maximum average number of shoots (2±0.48) and average shoot length was found to be 2.8±0.26 cm. Best initiated shoots then sub cultured for shoot multiplication, an improved shoot multiplication in terms of average number of shoots (5.3±0.41) and average shoot length 6.5±0.12 cm was observed on MS media in combination with BAP (0.5 mg/l) + IAA (1.5 mg/l). Regenerated plantlets were successfully transferred to greenhouse condition. Key word:Withania somnifera, Ashwagandha, Micropropagation, Nodal Explant, BAP, IAA Received 11 .12.2021 Revised 19.01.2022 Accepted 25.01.2022 INTRODUCTION Plants in addition to their aesthetic value constitute the major natural source of the food we eat, the air we breathe and the medicine to cure our many ills. Recently, the utilization of medicinal plants as a natural source of drugs is being increasingly encouraged. Consequently, medicinal plants have been targeted for uncontrolled collection and destruction as a result of urbanization, overgrazing, pollution and expansion of cultivated areas. Plant secondary metabolism gives rise to the formation of a vast array of chemically complex compounds, many of which are commercially important. Many problems are associated with the production and marketing of such compounds as well as the supply of raw materials can be erratic due to several reasons. So, it may become critical to develop an alternative source of important therapeutically natural products. Plant cell culture provides an environmentally friendly, renewable alternative for secondary metabolite supply [17]. Application of biotechnology for conservation of important plant species has been given priority under circumstances, in particular when many valuable plant genetic resources are getting decimated rapidly from natural flora [10]. Herbal medicines are still the mainstay of about 75-80% of the world population for primary health care because of the better acceptability with the human body and less side effects [5]. Many studies revealed that cultivation of medicinal plants especially high value medicinal plants is creating new dimension in the field of agriculture. Indian herbal industry is at blooming stage. However, cultivation of medicinal plant is not easy. It is a challenging task because very little knowledge of seed biology. Efforts have not been made to search elite specimen and their propagation. Withania sominifera is a green shrub found throughout the drier parts in India, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Shri Lanka, Congo, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan. In India, it is widely grown in the provinces of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, plains of Punjab and northwestern parts of the India like Gujarat and Rajasthan Withania sominifera (L.)Dunal, commonly called Indian ginseng is a member of the family Solanaceae, growing up to a height of 30-150 cm. It is considered as important medicinal plant in the Ayurvedic and indigenous medicinal system of India. It has many medicinal properties like anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-stress, anti-ageing, immune-modular, adaptogenic and shows the free radical scavenging activity It is used for treatment of tuberculosis, rheumatism, inflammatory conditions and cardiac diseases. It is also useful as abortificient, amoebicide, anodyne, bactericide, contraceptive and spasmolytic. The roots are also used as sedative for senile debility and for the prevention and inhibition of Alzheimer’s disease [20, 22, 3, 18].