Preparation

• To begin micropropagation of a medicinal plant, initial samples of the organism must be collected. The samples must be washed and sterilized thoroughly to avoid contamination of the explants, or shoots taken from the original samples. These explants are cleaned another time with sterilizing solutions, then planted in a nutrient medium. All preparation should happen in a controlled, sterile environment using sterilized tools and receptacles. The explants produce roots or shoots that have developed in vitro, or in a controlled environment. These in vitro-developed shoots are rooted in individual containers and transplanted into soil.
  
  

Culture

• The culture of various medicinal plants requires solutions for growing mediums, which sometimes require customization for specific plants. Many plants grow in any kind of nutritious medium, but best results may be gained by mimicking the composition of a plant's typical nutrient base. Contained in individual containers of nutrient medium, each shoot is exposed to optimum levels of ultraviolet rays while it produces roots. Sufficient root structure enables the clones to be planted in soil and acclimated to uncontrolled environments before they are transplanted into fields, sold in stores or stored for scientific use.
  
  

History

• Micropropagation is possible due to groundbreaking discoveries in science. The concept that each living cell should be capable of independent development, if provided with the proper conditions, developed decades before scientists discovered exactly what the proper conditions were. Attempts at in vitro tissue cultures date back to the beginning of the 1900s; however, widespread experimentation with micropropagation did not occur until the 1970s, when it became valuable in commercial applications.
  
  

Advantages

• Micropropagation is a very advantageous technique for the conservation and amplification of rare or endangered plants with medicinal value. The control over genotypes allows scientists to produce genetically-modified plants which can be resistant to disease and drought. Genetic-modification can also improve a plant's fruit and cause medicinal plants to be better suited for their desired purpose. Micropropagation provides rapid, year-round production of new plants from minimal tissue samples. This makes the technique preferable for the production and study of medicinal plants.