An Insight into Biotechnological Approaches Used for the Improvement of Secondary Metabolites from the Medicinal Aquatic Plant, Water Hyssop (Bacopa monnieri L.)

Water has a significant role on human civilizations by providing food and water along with plants grown on the banks or within the water bodies. Aquatic plants or semiaquatic plants are the group of plants that love to live in or near water bodies, and some of these plants are economically important due to their usage as food or medicinal plants. Water hyssop or brahmi (Bacopa monnieri L.) is one of the important semiaquatic/aquatic plants that has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient time in Indian subcontinent. The plant contains several secondary metabolites like bacosides which are used as memory enhancer tonic commercially. Brahmi-based registered drugs are available in India and other countries as memory enhancer tonic and for other diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, asthma, stomach ulcers, and respiratory ailments and for curing chronic diseases like cancer. Bacopa is facing the threat of extinction from wild as it is not a cultivated plant and propagation through seed is limited due to low availability of and viability of seeds. On the other hand, extensive works on the propagation of this important medicinal plant has been reported to develop in vitro protocols for its conservation and plant propagation for secondary metabolite production. Different in vitro techniques like cell suspension culture, callus culture, and organogenesis have been reported with the objective of producing or enhancing bacoside. Furthermore, application of other biotechnological approaches like Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation studies, use of mutagens, and in vitro polyploidization have also been reported. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to highlight the application of different biotechnological approaches used for the production, conservation, and secondary metabolite production of B. monnieri.