POTENTIAL OF BRYOPHYTES AS THERAPEUTICS
AbstractBryophytes, a small group of lower plant phylogenetically placed between algae and the vascular plants comprise of hornworts, liverworts, and mosses. They are the second largest group of land plants and extremely rich in a variety of biologically active compounds viz. terpenoids, phenols, glycosides, and fatty acids. This small slow-growing group of plants is stockroom of naturally occurring materials and have been investigated for the antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-venomous, and anti-leukemic activity. In recent years, bryophytes have emerged as a potential biopharming tool for the production of complex biopharmaceuticals. Even though bryophytes could be used in medicine, the use of bryophytes for applied research with implications for human health is still not fully explored. Investigations are hindered commonly because of minute size and difficulties in identifying diverse species of bryophytes. In the present review, we focused on therapeutic uses of bryophytes in detail that will widely open the door for the use of different bryophytes in plant biotechnology and to meet the demand of novel drug discovery.
Article Information
3
3584-3593
392
2904
English
IJPSR
R. Mishra, V. K. Pandey and R. Chandra *
Department of Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India.
rameshchandra@bitmesra.ac.in
08 March 2014
08 May 2014
25 May 2014
10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.5(9).3584-93
01 September 2014