BHU scientists develop new 'rishyagandha' variety using nano-biotech

The study showed the potential role of nano-biotechnology in the improvised version of Rhishygandha along with the high content of bioactive pharmacological compounds withanolides.

A group of scientists from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has claimed that they have successfully grown high-quality medicinal plant 'Rishyagandha' in their lab by utilizing a nano-biotechnological approach. The research was under the superior guidance of the Department of Botany and Molecular Human Genetics.

"In Ayurveda, Rishyagandha is acknowledged as an important medicinal plant, which is commonly called as Paneer flower or Paneer bandha and Withania coagulans in scientific language. Rishyagandha is known in Ayurveda for curing complex health problems like diabetes and cancer," said Prof Shashi Pandey from the Department of Botany, who guided the research with her student Dr. Deepika Tripathi eight years ago.

She said that the study showed the potential role of nano-biotechnology in the improvised version of Rhishygandha along with the high content of bioactive pharmacological compounds withanolides.

Initially, they developed an efficient protocol to propagate this endangered plant using in-vitro plant tissue culture methods. Further, in collaboration with Prof Gopeshwar Narayan of the Molecular and Human Genetics department, the efficiency of green synthesized nanoparticles was also studied using laboratory-grown plant extracts as a potent drug against cervical cancer, said Prof. Pandey.

"Continuing this research work, we found that synthesized nanoparticles and UV-B treatment in the laboratory conditions enhanced the yield of Rishyagandha with a quantitative increase of about 50 per cent in its medicinally useful compounds withanolides," she said.

Prof. Pandey added that it is mainly available in the dry hot climatic areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The medicinal properties are mainly dependent on present bioactive secondary metabolites like triterpenes Withanolides and Coagulinolides.

But unfortunately, the plant has been included in the endangered category due to indiscriminate use and various other reasons. Currently, to maintain the sustainability of this endangered plant and to improve the pharmacological efficiency with high efficacy, various researches are being conducted.

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