Shikimic acid and its role in the formation of aromatic amino acids, benzoic acids, and cinnamic acids is described, along with further modifications leading to lignans and lignin, phenylpropenes, and coumarins. Combinations of the shikimate pathway and the acetate pathway are responsible for the biosynthesis of styrylpyrones, flavonoids and stilbenes, flavonolignans, and isoflavonoids. Terpeno...

The medicinal plants find application in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agricultural and food industry. The efficacy of some herbal products is beyond doubt, the most recent examples being Silybum marianum (Linn.) Gaertn (silymarin), Artemisia annua Linn. (artemesinin) and Taxus baccata Linn. (taxol). Randomized, controlled trials have proved the efficacy of some established remedies, for instance Z...

Silymarin is an antihepatotoxic substance isolated from fruits of Silybum marianum. Possibly due to their antioxidant and membrane stabilizing properties, the compounds have been shown to protect different organs and cells against a number of insults. The content and composition of main silymarin components (silybin, isosilybin, silydianin and silychristin) in various pharmaceuticals were analy...

In present report effects of explants type, basal media and plant growth regulators (PGRs) were tested for induction of indirect somatic embryogenesis in medicinally important plant Silybum marianum L. Leaf, petiole and root explants were exploited in vitro on B5 (Gamborg), SH (Schenk and Hildebrandt) and MS (Murashige and Skoog) media for induction of embryogenic callus followed by somatic emb...