In vitro cultures of a medicinal plant studied by scientists of BAS
Scientists from BAS are developing in vitro systems to direct the accumulation of targeted secondary metabolites in Bulgarian medicinal plants. In vitro cultures of the medicinal plant British yellowhead (Inula britannica L.) were used in the research. The plant is popular in Chinese Traditional Medicine, where it is used in asthma and as a cough expectorant in pulmonary diseases. In Japanese Kampo traditional practice, a decoction of the flowers is used by nausea and as an expectorant. Pharmacological studies on extracts of various parts of the plant have shown their potential as a hepatoprotective, anticancer and anti-inflammatory agent. Scientific studies on the plant substantiate these activities by the presence of sesquiterpene lactones, diterpenes and flavonoids. The experiment conducted was with in vitro cultures obtained from [...]