African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (12), pp. 683-687, December 2004          
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals

Review

In vitro propagation: A biotechnological tool capable of solving the problem of medicinal plants decimation in South Africa

Afolayan A. J.¹* and Adebola P. O.²

¹ Department of Botany, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa.

²Plant Breeding Group, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, PMB 5244, Ibadan, Nigeria.

  *Correspondence author.  E-mail: Aafolayan@ufh.ac.za; Tel. / Fax +2740 6022323;

Accepted 24 November, 2004

South Africa has a very rich plant biodiversity, many of which are medicinally useful. The rich resource is decreasing at an alarming rate as a result of over- exploitation. Plant in vitro regeneration is a biotechnological tool that offers a potential solution to this problem as it provides a means of putting the plants onto the market at lower prices. We present in this paper a review of micro propagation protocols developed for selected medicinal plants of South Africa and highlight the need for the utilization of this technology for the mass propagation of over-exploited medicinal plants in South Africa.

Key words: Tissue culture, protocols, micro propagation, medicinal plants, herbal medicine.