02374nas a2200157   4500008004100000245008200041210006900123260002500192300001200217520181200229100001802041700001502059700002002074700001602094856010602110       2016                        eng d00aSalvia miltiorrhiza: A medicinal herb from metabolites to pathway engineering0 aSalvia miltiorrhiza A medicinal herb from metabolites to pathway  aSingaporebSpringer   a215-2383 aThe dried, red-colored roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Lamiaceae) also called “danshen” in colloquial language in China have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat hypertension and other cardiovascular ailments. The main constituents of danshen are hydrophilic phenolic acids and lipophilic tanshinones. The various uses of danshen in traditional as well as modern medicines have motivated an intensive research on compounds in S. miltiorrhiza. In recent years, more than 110 compounds have been isolated from S. miltiorrhiza and their structure was identified. Tanshinones and their derivatives have been demonstrated to possess properties of slowing down or curing various ailments related to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, respiratory, liver, nervous system, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. With the increasing demand of this herb, an unrestricted collection to supply raw materials and the extraction of its constituents have severely threatened the natural habitats of S miltiorrhiza. This has prompted the researchers to develop alternative strategies for metabolite production. Several in vitro methodologies have been established to generate callus, cell suspension culture, hairy roots, and plant regeneration. Different regulators and elicitors for plant growth have been employed to enhance levels of different constituents. The advent of sequencing technologies, whole genome, and expression data has helped to provide insights and identification of pathway genes involved in the biosynthesis. This book chapter gives a brief description of in vitro methodologies, use of different elicitors, gene functions, genetic modifications, expression profiling for a better understanding, and enhancement of the constituents in S. miltiorrhiza. 1 aGupta, S., K.1 aSharma, P.1 aAgrawal, D., C.1 aTsay, H.-S.  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/salvia-miltiorrhiza-medicinal-herb-metabolites-pathway-engineering