<scp> <i>Coleus</i> </scp> Species

Coleus aromaticus is an aromatic perennial plant used since ancient times in Ayurvedic systems of medicine. C. aromaticus is a large succulent aromatic perennial herb, 30–90 cm in height, with fleshy leaves and stem. The plant is naturalized in Indian subcontinent, used as antimicrobial and to treat malarial fever, hepatopathy, cough, chronic asthma, hiccough, bronchitis, helminthiasis, colic, convulsions, diuretic, and epilepsy. Rosmarinic acid accumulated in cultured cells of Coleus blumei. In C. blumei dedifferentiated cells when cultured in Gamborg medium, the accumulation of rosmarinic acid was higher than in the intact plants. Increasing the concentration of sucrose in B5 medium enhanced both growth of cells and synthesis of rosmarinic acid in C. blumei cultures. The accumulation of phenolic compounds in plants can be triggered and stimulated by elicitors in cell cultures of plants.