Ficus Lacor Research Articles

Hydrogen-rich gas production from wet biomass steam gasification with CaO/MgO

This study investigated the hydrogen production during steam gasification with biomass and a novel sorbent. The biomass sample originated from Ficus lacor leaves with a moisture content of 35 wt.%. The sorbent was prepared by heating the mixture of pre-calcined dolomite, limestone and water at 850 °C for 3 h. Gasification experiments were carried out in a fixed-bed system to study the potential of hydrogen production from steam gasification of wet biomass with the sorbent. The results showed that sorbent with a mass ratio of 1 demonstrated the highest activity toward hydrogen production. This finding must be due to its higher BET surface area. With increasing gasification temperature from 450 to 950 °C, highest hydrogen yield (204.6 ml/g-biomass) was achieved at 850 °C. Steam to biomass mass ratio of 0.5 and sorbent to biomass mass ratio of 0.7 seemed to be optimal during gasification. The enhancement decreased rapidly after the sorbent was repeated regeneration because of sintering and aggregation.

Anti-inflammatory potential of different extracts isolated from the roots of Ficus lacor buch. Hum and Murraya koenigii L. spreng

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of Murraya koenigii root extracts petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and chloroform (MKPE, MKEA and MKCF, respectively) and Ficus lacor aerial root extracts petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform and ethanol (FLPE , FLET, FLCF and FLET, respectively) at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) using animal models of acute inflammation (carrageenan-, histamine- and serotonin-induced inflammation). The results of the Murraya koenigii roots chloroform extract caused 66.4% inhibition and the ethanol extract of Ficus lacor aerial roots caused 68.3% inhibition at the dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. At a higher dose of 100 mg/kg b.w., MKPE and MKCF showed 55.10% and 70.10% inhibition, respectively. FLPE and FLET showed 74.50% and 75.40% inhibition, respectively, in the carrageenan-induced inflammation model. In histamine-induced inflammation, the MKCF showed 60% inhibition, and 67.01% and 68.02% inhibition with the petroleum ether and ethanol extracts, respectively, in Ficus lacor aerial roots at the dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. At a higher dose (100 mg/kg b.w.), MKCF showed 64% inhibition. FLPE and FLET showed 70.13%and 74.01% inhibition, respectively; 62.15% and 66.10% inhibition was observed with the petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of Ficus lacor aerial roots at 50 mg/kg b.w. At higher dose (100 mg/kg b.w.), FLPE and FLET showed 69.10% and 68.72% inhibition in serotonin-induced inflammation.

Influence of karst mountain under-forest economy modes on soil infiltration in Southwest China

This study aimed to determine the relationship between different under-forest economy modes and soil moisture permeability in the karst mountain of Southwest China.Soil infiltration and the influence factors of six different under-forest economy modes in Chongqing City were studied,with the pure forest as the control.The study showed significant differences in soil infiltration among different under-forest economy modes and soil layers.Infiltration was highest(449 mL) in 0 10 cm soil layer under the mode of fungi cultivation in Dendrocalamus latiflorus forest.The second highest(427.5 mL) was under the mode of grass cultivation in Ficus lacor forest,followed the soil under the mode of poultry feeding in D.latiflorus forest(389.4 mL).Soil infiltration was poorest(241.5 mL) under the mode of fungi cultivation in Eucalyptus robusta forest.Soil infiltration in each under-forest economy mode decreased with increasing soil depth.The common infiltration model was the most suitable for simulating soil infiltrating processes in the study area,followed by the Kostiakov equation,and then the Horton equation.Soil infiltration evaluation via correlation analysis showed that the strongest soil infiltration capacity was of the mode of fungi cultivation in D.latiflorus forest.This was followed by the mode of grass cultivation in F.lacor forest and then poultry feeding in D.latiflorus forest.Fungi cultivation in E.robusta forest performed the least in terms of soil infiltration.Correlation analysis between soil infiltration and physiochemical properties showed significant positive correlation between soil infiltration and organic matter(β1),moisture content(β2),total soil porosity(β3) and the 0.005 0.01 mm soil particle content(β6)(P 0.01).Also significant negative correlation existed between soil infiltration and soil bulk density(β8) and 0.05 0.25 mm particle content(β5)(P 0.01).According to the correlation analysis,eight indexes of soil physiochemical properties(which significantly influenced soil infiltration) were noted.Comprehensive parameters of soil infiltration(α) and soil physiochemical properties(β) were obtained by the Principal Component Analysis.Then linear regression models of the indicators of soil infiltration and comprehensive parameters(α and β) were built as α= 0.249α1 +0.254α2 +0.252α3 +0.254α4,β=0.167β1 +0.183β2 +0.200β3 +0.174β4 0.145β5 +0.131β6 +0.106β7 0.200β8.In the models,α1 was initial infiltration rate,α2 was stable infiltration rate,α3 was average infiltration rate,α4 was total infiltration;β4 was non-capillary porosity,β7 was content of 0.001 0.005 mm soil particles.

Therapeutic Effect ofFicus lacorAerial Roots of Various Fractions on Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rats

The present study was carried out to evaluate antiarthritic potential and phytochemical screening of various extracts of Ficus lacor aerial roots. The antiarthritic activity was evaluated by adjuvant-induced arthritis at the dose of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight and the standard drug used was indomethacin. The extracts administered in higher doses reduced the lesions to a greater extent showing a dose-dependent decrease in lesions comparable with standard drug indomethacin. The extracts of FLPE and FLET showed significant increase in body weight as compared to arthritic control group as well as an increase in liver weight, a decrease in liver weight, and an increase in spleen weight in arthritis control. The extracts of FLPE and FLET showed significant decrease in WBC count, increase in hemoglobin contents, and RBC count as compared to control group. FLEA and FLCF were not able to produce a significant effect. There was significant reduction in production of IL-1 and TNF-α level between model group and control group in serum. In conclusion, we demonstrate that, at 100 mg/kg body weight, doses of FLPE and PLET extracts were highly effective in preventing and suppressing the development of adjuvant-induced arthritis.

Wild Vegetables Used by Local Community of Makawanpur District and Their Contribution to Food Security and Income Generation

Wild vegetables were collected from forests, home gardens, road sides, fallow lands and farmers’ fields of Makawanpur district. Information regarding local names, seasonal availability, mode of consumption and priority for utilization were gathered by interviews with key informants, traders’ interviews and market survey of study sites. Some of nutritive values including relative importance of wild vegetables were recorded from literature. A total of 68 wild plant species belonging to 58 genera and 40 families were identified as wild vegetables. Of these, 53 species were herbs, 5 climbers, 4 species shrubs, 4 species trees, and 2 species aquatic runners. The wild vegetables were harvested mainly from March to July by women for household consumption and were also sold in the market. Amaranthus lividus, Bambusa tulda, Bauhinia purpurea, Chenopodium album, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Diplazium esculentum, Dryopteris cochleata, Ficus lacor, Ipomoea aquatica, Macropanax dispermus, Phytolacca acinosa, Rorripa nasturtium-aquaticum, Tectaria coduanata, were frequently used as wild vegetables. About 16 wild vegetables were sold in the market. Thus, wild vegetables not only contributed to subsistence and nutritional security of the local people, but also a source of income generation. Despite their importance, these plants have been threatened. The utilization and cultivation of these vegetables should be promoted to maintain the dietary needs of the household in Nepal. This paper attempts to highlight the use and priority of wild vegetables mainly leafy and tender shoot vegetables of Makawanpur district. Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 13, No. 1 (2012) 59-66 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v13i1.7442

Elemental content of some anti-diabetic ethnomedicinal species of genus Ficus Linn. using atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique

Elemental investigation of some selected species of genus Ficus (Moraceae) having anti-diabetic property was conducted using atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique. The flame atomic absorption spectroscopy was employed for the estimation of element contents of different plant parts of seven different species including Ficus bengalensis, Ficus religiosa,Ficus microcarpa, Ficus racemosa, Ficus hispida, Ficus carica and Ficus lacor content for clinical monitoring. Na, K, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Mg, Cd, Co and Pb were detected and their concentration determined. The results of the present work give the proper reasonable information for the utilization of following plants in the treatment of diabetes through ethnomedicinal as well as AAS studies. These medicinal plants were can be considered as potential sources for providing a reasonable amount of the required elements to the diabetic patients in a particular way, as they contain appreciable amounts of the certain elements which are capable for influence of insulin. It is known that these trace elements may play an important role in the antihyperglycemic properties. Key words: Ficus, diabetes mellitus, elements, atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS), medicines, medicinal plants.

Pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies on Ficus Microcarpa L. fil

Background:Ficus microcarpa L. fil. (Syn: Ficus retusa) (Moraceae) is well-known traditional medicinal plant. The bark is used for diverse health ailments in traditional and folklore remedies.Aims:The present study was undertaken to lay down pharmacognostical and phytochemical standards.Materials and Methods:Pharmacognostic studies on fresh, dried and powdered bark was carried out to determine it's morphological, anatomical, and phytochemical diagnostic features. Furthermore, major phytoconstituents were identified from the extracts with the help of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) study.Results:The morphology showed to be soft, brittle, rough, shallow vertical, irregularly oriented fissures, curved surface; with splintering, laminated fracture. Microscopically F. microcarpa showed all general characteristics of bark with some distinct differentiation. The phellem is thin and even, phelloderm few cell and rectangular and followed by smaller sclerides, the phloem rays are broad, multi-serrate and showed the scattered bundles of sclerides. The fluorescence and physicochemical standards for bark were established. HPLC analysis showed the predominant presence of therapeutically important phytoconstituents such as oleanolic, betulinic acid, lupeol, β-sitosterol, catechin, and gallic acid.Conclusion:The bark of F. microcarpa considered equivalent to other Ficus species, such as Ficus virens, Ficus infectoria, Ficus arnottiana, Ficus lacor, and Ficus talboti. However, there is no pharmacognostical and phytochemical reports on F. microcarpa to authenticate and differentiate it from similar species. Present work has described pharmacognostical and phytochemical characteristics of F. microcarpa and diagnostic features to differentiate it.

Palynomorphological characterization of some species of Ficus L. from Pakistan

The present study was confined to pollen morphology and pollen fertility estimation using a taxonomic description of 11 species of genus Ficus family Moraceae. The species wereFicus bengalensis L, Ficus microcarpa L.f., Ficus palmata Forrsk., Ficus religiosa L., Ficus lacor Ham., Ficus pumila L., Ficus hispida L.f., Ficus sarmentosa Buch.Ham, Ficus auriculata Wall., Ficus virens Dryand. and Ficus racemosa Roxb. A palynomorphic study of the following species was conducted for the first time not only in Asia, but worldwide. As such, no published details were available for such comprehensive morphopalynological studies of the following species of genus Ficus L. It was found that pollen characters (that is, shape, surface of exine and pollen morphology) were considered as important characters and were used as tools in the taxonomy of these species. In the present research, the highest (97.82%) value was observed in F. palmata Forrsk. (Table 1) and the lowest (60%) was observed in F. bengalensis L. The present study shows that the flora of the selected species is a stable one. However, genetic diversity and molecular studies may also be helpful in this regard. Key words: Ficus, palynology, pollen fertility.

A comparative evaluation of the antioxidant activity of some medicinal plants popularly used in Nepal

Recently, attention has focused on phytochemicals as new sources of natural antioxidants.Therefore, the methanolic crude extracts of 24 commonly used medicinal plants fromJhapa and Illam District, Nepal, were screened for total phenols, flavonoids, and free radical scavenging activity. Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). Significant differences in DPPH scavenging activity were found between the species investigated, ranging from 14.67 ± 1.00% to 92.33 ± 1.53%. The highest radical scavenging activity was observed in Artemisia vulgaris (92.33 ± 1.53% inhibition), followed by Ficus lacor (92.00 ± 1.73%) and Mallotus philippensis (91.33 ± 1.53%). The total phenol content of the investigated species ranged from 28.87 ± 2.36 to 321.23 ± 1.06 mg GAE/g extract, while flavonoid content ranged from 13.53 ± 0.85 to 100.33 ± 1.53 mg QE/g extract. A weak linear correlation between total phenolic or flavonoid content and antioxidant activity was found (correlation coefficient, R2 = 0.3004, R2 = 0.4294, respectively), indicating that the major antioxidant components might not be phenolics. In particular, A. vulgaris, F. lacor, M. philippensis, Trachyspermum ammi, and Amomum subulatum showed strong activity against DPPH, and thus could be used as natural antioxidants in the food and/or pharmaceutical industry. Key words: Phenolic content, flavonoids, medicinal plants, antioxidant activity, methanolic extraction.

Indigenous knowledge of fodder tree selectivity by local goats in the mid‐hills of Nepal

PurposeTree fodder is an important constituent of livestock feed in the mid‐hills of Nepal, particularly so during the dry winter. The purpose of this paper is to compare the ranking of tree fodders by indigenous goat raisers to the selectivity of fodder by goats.Design/methodology/approachFodder from six trees, namely, khanayo (Ficus semicordata), sal (Shorea robusta), kabro (Ficus lacor), pakhuri (Ficus globerrima), katus (Catannopsis tribuloides) and aanp (Mangifera indica) are used. Goat raisers rank the six fodders, giving 1 as the most preferred by goats and 6 as the least preferred. In addition, a feeding trial is carried out in which the six fodders are offered simultaneously to adult, castrated male and lactating, female local khari goats and intake of each fodder is determined.FindingsKhanayo (1.00) is ranked highest by the goat farmers, followed by kabro (2.47), pakhuri (3.58), sal (4.16), aanp (4.56) and katus (5.21). Selectivity by the goats is highest in khanayo and kabro, intermediate in aanp and pakhuri and lowest in katus and sal. The correlation between farmer ranking and goat selectivity approaches significance (r=0.48; Mantel P<0.09). A significant correlation is found between fodder selections of male and female goats (r=0.68; Mantel P<0.01). Among components, fodder selectivity of goats is highly correlated (P<0.01) with calcium concentration only. Generally, goats select fodders high in calcium and crude protein and minimize intakes of fodders high in lignin and condensed tannins.Originality/valueThe indigenous population is knowledgeable about the fodder preference of goats but, in practice, they generally offer only one fodder species to the goats at a feeding. However, this paper shows that the goats consume and, most likely, require a mixed diet of tree fodders in satisfying their requirements of nutrients and energy while minimizing their intake of detrimental. This should be taken into consideration by the farmers when feeding their livestock.

New Cercospora species from India

Cercospora gorakhanathii sp.nov. and C. moracearum sp.nov. are described from leaves of Celosia sp. and Ficus lacor respectively. They are compared with published accounts of species on these host families.

Establishment of a xylarium

doi: 10.3126/banko.v18i2.2174Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 2, 64