435 International Journal of Tropical Agriculture Influence of Subculturing on Calotropis procera (Willd.) R. Br. for Enhanced Shoot Proliferation INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE ISSN : 0254-8755 available at http: www.serialsjournal.com © Serials Publications Pvt. Ltd. Volume 35 • Number 3 • 2017 Influence of Subculturing on Calotropis procera (Willd.) R. Br. for Enhanced Shoot Proliferation: An in vitro Source of Secondary Metabolites Susmita Shukla Applied Plant Biotechnology Research Lab, Centre for Plant and Environmental Biotechnology, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, E-mail: sshukla3@amity.edu Abstract: Plants produce various types of bioactive molecules, phytochemicals and secondary metabolites making them a rich source of different types of medicines. This revival of worldwide interest in medicinal plants reflects recognition of the validity of many traditional claims regarding the value of natural products in healthcare. The plant preparation has very less incidence of adverse reactions and cost effective as compared to modern pharmaceuticals. Hence encouraging both the consuming public and national health care institutions is considering plant medicines and finding ways out to obtain the medicinal constituents from different sources. Several medicinal plants and herbal formulations have been reported for the treatment of various diseases through different mechanisms. The latex of the Calotropis Procera is one of the constituents of an Ayurvedic preparation, used for the treatment of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, nervous disorders as well as for treating diabetes mellitus The free radical scavenging and antioxidant property of the latex of C. procera has been shown to be comparable to standard antioxidant, Vitamin C. Medicinal plants indicates that majority of them are flowering plants comprising of trees, herbs, shrubs, climbers etc. It appears that bulk of plant material is obtained from the roots, whole plant, fruits, seeds and bark which are vital for the survival and regeneration of medicinal plants in nature. Destructive harvesting has brought about depletion and scarcity of medicinal plants. Due to rapid depletion of genetic stocks, concerted efforts must be made to evolve new methods for exploiting the phytochemicals for pharmaceutical industries without destroying the nature and environment. The present study is about the methodology adopted to obtain bioactive compounds from in vitro cultures which can directly reach to industry maintaining the biodiversity. The influence of subculturing effects on Calotropis Procera has been studied to understand maximum availability of the herbal products for the healthcare industries. Subsequent subculturing was done till 6 th cycle where maximum shoot proliferation was obtained upto