Outcome of UV-B exposure and induction of some chlorophyll phenodeviants in two important hepatoprotective ethnomedicinal wild plants

Present piece of work has been performed with an aim to engender genetic variations in Andrographis paniculata (Burm f.) Nees and Phyllanthus niruri L. since both plants own low or very poor genetic variations due to wild nature. A. paniculata and P. niruri both are magnificent hepatoprotective wild medicinal plants which have been used since ancient times as an ethnomedicine to cure several common and chronic ailments with the high competence and less side effects. UV-B radiations induce mutations because they are absorbed by major biomolecule predominantly by proteins and nucleic acids chiefly DNA. Owing to enormous potential as herbal medicines, both plants i.e. Andrographis and Phyllanthus have been selected for mutation breeding experiments using Ultraviolet-B radiations (UV-B) as a mutagen. When germinating seedlings of A. paniculata and P. niruri were reached up to 1–3 cm, they were treated with UV-B radiations for 0 min, 10 min, 20 min and 30 min with a recovery period of one hour at room temperature and were planted in earthen pots in triplicates. During observations, significant variations in growth and pigment content have been observed in both plants (A. paniculata and P. niruri) in a dose based manner. A wide spectrum of chlorophyll phenodeviants (chlorophyll deficient mutants) in M(2) generation such as xantha, xanthoviridis, alboviridis, virscent and chlorina mutants in A. paniculata and variegated plant, xanthoviridis, xantha and albino mutants in P. niruri have also been observed. Out of all the chlorophyll mutants obtained, few were lethal hence not survived later, while rest were survived till different stages of development. On the basis of occurrence of chlorophyll phenodeviants in Andrographis and Phyllanthus, mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency of different doses of UV-B rays have been indexed. The practice of indexing of effectiveness and efficiency of any mutagen is being used for the successful execution of mutation breeding programs to find the optimum dose that may facilitate induction of a multitude of other lucrative mutations.