A comprehensive overview of breeding strategy to improve phenotypic and quality traits in Valeriana jatamansi Jones.

Valeriana jatamansi is a high value perennial herb that grows at an altitude of 1000-3000 MASL in the Indian Himalayan Region and is used in the Ayurvedic, Unani and Chinese systems of medicine. The plant extracts and essential oil (EO) obtained from its roots are used in the pharmaceutical, aromatic and flavouring industries. On account of high global annual demand and lack of organized cultivation of this herb, it is mostly collected from the wild causing depletion of the natural populations and also leading to variable produce making it unsuitable for industrial use. Therefore, to promote its cultivation, it becomes imperative to develop varieties with uniformity. Significant variations have been reported in V. jatamansi populations in terms of underground biomass accumulation, essential oil and valepotriates indicating potential of genotypic variability for effective selection. The review focuses on the diversity and variations at inter- and intra-population levels for phenotypic traits, variations for different active constituents and scope of improvement through selective breeding in V. jatamansi. The species has cross-pollinated breeding behaviour on account of floral dimorphism and presents unique opportunities for development of homozygous progeny lines through controlled self/sib-pollination by applying the breeding methods described in the review for population improvement. The germplasm resources of unique and improved selections can be maintained clonally to ensure their true-to-type identity. This review article was framed in the year 2022 after thoroughly studying the literature from the year 1919-2022. The study focuses on the variations in V. jatamansi which could be used to maximize the production through various breeding techniques for biomass and yield of different active constituents to meet the requirements of pharmaceutical and aroma industries.

Clonal Propagation of Valeriana jatamansi Retains the Essential Oil Profile of Mother Plants: An Approach Toward Generating Homogenous Grade of Essential Oil for Industrial Use.

Valeriana jatamansi Jones (Syn. V. wallichii DC.) is an aromatic, medicinal herb used as a tranquilizer and in treating sleep disorders. Rhizome is mainly used to extract essential oil (EO) and valepotriates. High quality and economic yield of rhizomes are available in the third year of growth. Therefore, the cultivation of V. jatamansi is not picking up, and over-exploitation of this plant from wild habitats to meet the increasing demand of the pharmaceutical industry is the cause of threat to the genetic diversity of the species. Further, collections from the wild are heterogeneous, resulting in variable produce. The development of clonal lines can ensure uniform quality and yield of rhizome biomass. An effective clonal propagation method was standardized using different hormonal concentrations of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on apical shoot cuttings from the selected clone CSIR-IHBT-VJ-05 for different time durations and raised over various planting media. NAA treatment of 50 ppm concentration for 30 min was found optimum for root induction in apical shoots of V. jatamansi. Variations for EO composition within the clone were non-significant, while samples of the control population were variable. The best quality EO (patchouli alcohol ∼62%) was available during the third year of plant growth. A propagation technique for large-scale quality plant material (QPM) production has been standardized to reduce the stress over natural resources and promote V. jatamansi for use in the aromatic and pharmaceutical industry.