Current Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy

Medicinal plants growing in wild cannot ensure consistent quality due to genetic variability found in the natural populations, geographical variations and season of collection. Therefore, there is a need to cultivate medicinal plants using known varieties for extraction of high yields of active principles. This can be achieved only with organic farming practices and post harvest technologies. The research conducted by institutes like CIMAP and other CSIR institutes, ICAR and Universities has led to the release of a number of high yielding medicinal plant cultivars. Coleus forskohli is a herb with fleshy, fibrous roots that grows in wild in the warm, subtropical areas like in India, Burma, and Thailand. Coleus forskohlii is being grown in several parts of the country as a commercial crop. In the present investigation the effect of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK) and farm yard manure amendments on the growth of roots and accumulation of forskolin was studied. The results revealed that 50% of NPK and 10 tonnes of farm yard manure per hectare at a harvesting time 150 days are ideal for maximum yield of forskolin.