An Update on Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnological Investigations in Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.

Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. is one of the important plants of the Fabaceae family and is present in different regions of the world. It is greatly valued for its medicinal properties and has often been used for medical purposes. It was observed that P. marsupium contains numerous phytochemical components, such as glycosides, proteins, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, alkaloids, carbohydrates, and flavonoids. Due to overexploitation, the natural population of P. marsupium is declining steadily, because of which it is required to be cultivated on a larger scale. The conventional propagation methods of P. marsupium are time-consuming processes, and the plant is not easy to propagate through seeds because of its low germination percentage. Hence, to overcome the problem related to conventional propagation and to reduce the destruction of plants in wild habitats, tissue culture functions as an important tool to conserve the plant. The tissue culture practice is extremely useful to meet the rising demands of the people because it gives a significant number of elite genotype progenies within a limited time and without seasonal dependence.