REVIEW

Abiotic Stress-Induced Changes in Antioxidative System and Secondary Metabolites Production in Andrographis paniculata 

Andrographis paniculata is an annual herbaceous plant of the family Acanthaceae. Andrographolide (a bicycle diterpene) is the main component of A. paniculata and responsible for its bitter taste. Abiotic stress considerably affects the life cycle of plants through morphological, biochemical, and physiological changes. These stresses also act as elicitors for the synthesis of secondary metabolites (SMs) in plants. Secondary metabolites help plants to survive in adverse conditions via alleviating osmotic stress and reducing Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). In this review, we discuss the response of the antioxidative system and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in A. paniculata under abiotic stress. The mechanism involve in biosynthesis of ent-labdane diterpenoids is also discussed.