Medicinal plant conservation in Thailand using reintroduction of micropropagules

An attempt to conserve 10 Thai medicinal plants using micropropagation and reintroduction systems has been performed. The reintroduction of plants becomes an increasingly utilized strategy in medicinal plant conservation. These combined techniques can increase number of selected medicinal plants in their habitats. We established rapid micropropagation systems for 10 medicinal plants, i.e. Stemona hutanguriana W.Chuakul, Grammatophyllum speciosum Blume, Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex. Kurz, Afgekia mahidoliae Burtt et Chermsir, Kaempferia roscoeana Wall., K. rotunda L., K. parviflora Wall. ex Baker, K. larsenii Sirirugsa, K. candida Wall., Zingiber gramineum Noronha, to produce in vitro plantlets, developed methodology for transferring plants to ex vitro growth conditions, and then reintroduced to the forest. In August, 2010, K. roscoeana Wall. and K. rotunda L. regenerants were reintroduced to a forest in Kanchanaburi. K. roscoeana Wall. could survive up to 95.00%, whereas, the survival rate of K. rotunda L. was 10.98%, observed one year later (August, 2011). Our results can be developed to longer-term strategies for the reintroduction of micropropagated medicinal plants into natural habitats.