**1. Introduction**

The plant kingdom has provided a wide variety of natural products with diverse chemical structures and a vast array of biological activities, many of which found applications in health sciences. Over 80% of the approximately 30,000 known natural products are of plant origin. In 1985, 3500 new chemical structures were identified out of which 2600 were derived from higher plants and 121 clinically useful drugs were derived from plants [1]. Plants will continue to provide novel products as well as chemical models for new drugs in the near future [2].

Many of the plant species that produce medicinal herbs have been scientifically evaluated for their possible medical applications. The economic importance of phytopharmaceuticals in plants has led to their inevitable collection from their natural habitats and thus creating environmental and geopolitical instabilities posing a threat to their survival. The reckless collection of plants has put several of them under the categories of endangered or at the verge of extinction. This has prompted industries and scientists to find the alternative technologies for the production of phytopharmaceuticals so that the natural habitat of plants can be preserved.

Plant cell cultures have served as potential renewable resources for the production of valuable medicinal compounds, flavors, fragrances, pigments, dyes, cosmetics and fine chemicals. All these compounds belong to a group collectively known as secondary metabolites. The commercial importance of secondary metabolites and the possibilities of their production by means of cell culture technologies have gained great interest in the recent years. The current review is a survey and analysis of current status of various plant cell culture technologies used for the production of medicinally important metabolites. The future prospects of cell culture technologies in light of successful case studies have been reviewed and possible improvements are suggested.
