ABSTRACT
Secondary metabolites in plants provide an excellent source for phytomedicine. The production of plant secondary metabolites is of great importance for commercial and industrial applications. Among the physical mutagens, gamma radiation is widely used to artificially induce mutations in plants and in vitro cultures. Gamma radiation is sparsely ionizing radiation which typically causes more indirect effect where the free radicals like the hydroxyl radicals cause the biological damage. It mimics the biotic and abiotic factors and in turn induces plants to produce the enzymes to counter effect, leading to enhanced production of secondary metabolite. Optimal dose of gamma irradiation facilitates a higher amount of secondary metabolite accumulation. The evidences for increasing the plant secondary metabolite production with γ irradiation include seeds, seedlings, flowers, fruits, roots, hairy roots, callus cultures and suspension cultures. The generation of mutant lines based on analysis of quality and quantity of secondary metabolites is evaluated and checked for generations, where the point mutation in certain specific genes is noted. In this chapter, the effect of gamma irradiation on different plant parts, in vitro cultures, the age of the plantlets, DNA, proteins, enzymes and secondary metabolites is discussed in detail.
