Abstract

Piper betle (betel) plants are profusely grown in different states of India. The conventional greenhouse structure known as barejas (baroj) produces best quality betel leaves with huge export potential. The creeper is grown vegetatively from stem cutting and the green foliage produces high quality essential oil that is being utilized in the medicinal, pharmaceutical and aroma industry. The vegetative mode of propagation of this plant species under semi-in vitro condition inside baroj structure generated a number of cultivars due to diverse epigenetic regulation. The cultivars respond separately in nonidentical habitat generating epi-variants. The aroma compound expresses differential seasonal, morpho-anatomical, chemotypic profile. This distinction may aid the farmers and oil manufacturercum exporters to utilize the creeper for diverse applications. The chemotypic variation of leaves and non-leafy segments made this plant a potential bio-prospecting agent. This plant has potential to substitute a number of indigenous and exotic medicinal plants in extraction of important volatile and non-volatile compounds. The unsold, additional leaves along with non-leafy organ from betel-vines could be utilized for cultivar specific essential oil extraction. The oil extraction and purification may enrich the aroma-therapy sector and medicinal industry along with contribution towards agricultural waste management and additional income generation for betel farmers.