Kumaon Region Research Articles

Volatile Terpenoid Composition of Origanum vulgare L. Derived from Top, Middle and Lower Portions of the Plant Cultivated in Uttarakhand

The essential oil obtained from top-1/3, middle-1/3 and lower-1/3 portions of Origanum vulgare L. cultivated in Kumaon region of western Himalaya was compared for their content and composition. The essential oil content varied from 0.26 % to 0.91 %with the highest in top-1/3. GC and GC-MS analyses enabled to identify 37 components which showed considerable variation in the quantitative composition of the oils. Major components of oils were carvacrol (52.17 % - 66.08 %), γ-terpinene (5.53 % - 24.13 %) and p-cymene (4.17 % - 34.43 %). The concentration of phenolic monoterpenes decreased from top to bottom, whilst the amount of monoterpene hydrocarbons increased in the same direction.

Changes in the essential oil composition of Majorana hortensis Moench. cultivated in India during plant ontogeny

The essential oil content and composition of 'sweet marjoram? (Majorana hortensis Moench) cultivated in the Kumaon region of the western Himalaya was studied at different ages of the crop. The samples were taken after 60, 90, 120 and 150 days of transplanting. The essential oil contents varied from 0.20 % to 0.70 %. The essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty eight components, representing 96.53% - 98.44% of the oil, were identified. The major essential oil constituents, viz., (Z)-sabinene hydrate (37.05% - 47.49%), terpinen-4-ol (14.45% - 16.22%) and (E)-sabinene hydrate (5.81% - 6.97 %) showed considerable variation in their concentrations in relation to crop age.

Changes in the essential oil composition of Majorana hortensis Moench. cultivated in India during plant ontogeny

The essential oil content and composition of 'sweet marjoram’ (Majorana hortensis Moench) cultivated in the Kumaon region of the western Himalaya was studied at different ages of the crop. The samples were taken after 60, 90, 120 and 150 days of transplanting. The essential oil contents varied from 0.20 % to 0.70 %. The essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty eight components, representing 96.53% - 98.44% of the oil, were identified. The major essential oil constituents, viz., (Z)-sabinene hydrate (37.05% - 47.49%), terpinen-4-ol (14.45% - 16.22%) and (E)-sabinene hydrate (5.81% - 6.97 %) showed considerable variation in their concentrations in relation to crop age.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil From Fimbristylis falcata (Vahl) Kunth

Essential oil from the rhizomes of Fimbristylis falcata (Vahl) Kunth colleted from the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand was obtained by steam distillation. The oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil was composed of more than 40 constituents; 33 among these were identified. Camphor (4.2%), cyperene (3.8 %), thymol (3.6%), spathulenol (4.4%), dehydroabietal (24.5%) and dehydroabietol (4.9%) were found as the major constituents of the oil.

Essential Oil Composition of Thymus Serpyllum Cultivated in the Kumaon Region of Western Himalaya, India

The hydrodistilled essential oil of aerial parts of Thymus serpyllum L. (Lamiaceae), cultivated in the Kumaon region of western Himalaya was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-nine compounds, representing 91.8% of the oil, were identified. The major components were thymol (58.8%), p-cymene (5.7%), thymol methyl ether (4.0%), borneol (3.8%), sabinene (3.4%), gamma-terpinene (3.4%) and carvacrol methyl ether (3.2%).

Comment on: “Does the Karakoram fault interrupt mid-crustal channel flow in the western Himalaya?” by Mary L. Leech, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 276 (2008) 314–322

Leech [Leech, M.L., 2008, Does the Karakoram fault interrupt mid-crustal channel flow in the western Himalaya? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 276, 314–322.] proposed that (1) Himalayan granites are significantly more abundant east of the Karakoram fault termination (around Mount Kailas, in SW Tibet) than west of it in the Zanskar–Kumaon region, that (2) the fault may have created a barrier to southward flow of mid-crustal channel flow, and that (3) the fault acted as a vertical conduit for these melts. These inferences are based upon new U–Pb SHRIMP data from the Leo Pargil dome, NW India, and the analysis of published U–Pb ages from additional Himalayan domes. Here we point out the flaws in all these hypotheses and suggest a much closer comparison of granites along the Karakoram shear zone to the widespread Miocene crustal melt granites of the Baltoro Karakoram range in North Pakistan. Field relationships combined with U–(Th)–Pb dating of granites and metamorphic rocks clearly shows that the leucogranites exhumed along the Karakoram fault are related to regional metamorphic and melting events along the Baltoro Karakoram range of the Asian plate and not to Indian plate Himalayan leucogranites at all. We discuss individually the points raised.

Leaf Oil Composition of Premna barbata Wall. ex. Sch. from Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand

The hydrodistilled leaf essential oil of Premna barbata Wall. ex. Sch. collected during winter and spring season from Kumaon region has been characterized by GC and GC/MS. A total of about 45 constituents comprising 87–91% of oils have been identified. 1-Octen-3-ol (37.3–21.5%) and epi-α-bisabolol (12.2–14.1%) were the major constituents. The high 1-octen-3-ol content makes the oil biologically active.

Genetic Variation and Structure of the People of Uttarakhand, Central Himalayas, India

The Indian Himalayas, being semi-isolated geographically, provide ideal conditions for population genetics investigations. The main aim of this study is to genetically characterize and analyze the genetic structure of the people of Uttarakhand, a newly created North Indian hill state in the Central Himalayas, using original phenotype and allele-frequency data on a battery of seven red cell enzyme polymorphisms. For this analysis, blood samples were collected from 3,222 unrelated subjects belonging to various endogamous caste populations (Brahmin, Rajput, and Shilpkar) and tribal Bhotia inhabiting seven different districts in the Garhwal (northern) and Kumaon (southern) regions of Uttarakhand. Hemolysates were typed for isozymes of ESD, PGM1, ADA, AK1, GLO1, ACP1, and GPI using standard electrophoretic techniques. The genetic structure of these regional caste and tribal population groups was investigated with the help of different statistical measures. The present biochemical marker results show that the overall genetic constitution of the different populations of Uttarakhand is rather heterogeneous but similar to that of various caste and tribal populations of the neighboring hill state of Himachal Pradesh, situated on Uttarakhand's western border. The extent of genic differentiation observed in different contemporary populations of Garhwal was twice as high as that of Kumaon. Interestingly, in genetic distance dendrograms of both the regions and of all of Uttarakhand, all the Shilpkar groups are differentiated from the remaining groups of Brahmin, Rajput, and Bhotia. The genetic constitution of the Shilpkar (a scheduled caste population of Uttarakhand) and to a lesser extent that of the Bhotia (a scheduled tribe population of Uttarakhand) are rather different from both the Brahmin and Rajput high-caste populations, which tend to show genetic similarities between them. These observations are corroborated by the known ethnohistory of different populations of Uttarakhand.

Genetic Variation and Structure of the People of Uttarakhand, Central Himalayas, India

The Indian Himalayas, being semi-isolated geographically, provide ideal conditions for population genetics investigations. The main aim of this study is to genetically characterize and analyze the genetic structure of the people of Uttarakhand, a newly created North Indian hill state in the Central Himalayas, using original phenotype and allele-frequency data on a battery of seven red cell enzyme polymorphisms. For this analysis, blood samples were collected from 3,222 unrelated subjects belonging to various endogamous caste populations (Brahmin, Rajput, and Shilpkar) and tribal Bhotia inhabiting seven different districts in the Garhwal (northern) and Kumaon (southern) regions of Uttarakhand. Hemolysates were typed for isozymes of ESD, PGM1, ADA, AK1, GLO1, ACP1, and GPI using standard electrophoretic techniques. The genetic structure of these regional caste and tribal population groups was investigated with the help of different statistical measures. The present biochemical marker results show that the overall genetic constitution of the different populations of Uttarakhand is rather heterogeneous but similar to that of various caste and tribal populations of the neighboring hill state of Himachal Pradesh, situated on Uttarakhand’s western border. The extent of genic differentiation observed in different contemporary populations of Garhwal was twice as high as that of Kumaon. Interestingly, in genetic distance dendrograms of both the regions and of all of Uttarakhand, all the Shilpkar groups are differentiated from the remaining groups of Brahmin, Rajput, and Bhotia. The genetic constitution of the Shilpkar (a scheduled caste population of Uttarakhand) and to a lesser extent that of the Bhotia (a scheduled tribe population of Uttarakhand) are rather different from both the Brahmin and Rajput high-caste populations, which tend to show genetic similarities between them. These observations are corroborated by the known ethnohistory of different populations of Uttarakhand.

On the Himalayan Uplift and Himalayan Corridors

Himalayan corridors Kitamura (1955) postulated that the temperate zone of the southern side of the Great Himalayas represented a corridor through which Sino-Japanese plants migrated westwards, and named it the Himalayan corridor. However, he did not pay much attention to the eastward distribution of Mediterranean elements through the corridor and extended the Sino-Japanese region up to Afghanistan by drawing the Himalayan corridor (Kitamura, 1957). The southern slopes in the Himalayas are generally drier than the northern slopes. In the case of the Great Himalayas, however, the south-facing slope is moister than the north facing one. Therefore, there are two corridors along the Outer and Lesser Himalayas respectively, on the south facing slopes and on the north facing slopes, and the Great Himalayas provide a corridor on its southern slope. The northern side of the Great Himalayas can not act as a corridor due to its dryness. The eastern elements extended their distribution range westwards through the moister corridor and the western elements migrated eastwards through the drier corridor. However, for example, wet sal (Shorea robusta) forest occurring on the south-facing slopes of the Siwalik range in Central Nepal can not survive on the south facing slopes in the western Siwaliks. It moves to the north-facing slope and it is replaced by the dry hill sal forest in the west Siwalik range. The dry hill sal forest gives place to the subtropical decidous hill forest dominated by Anogeissus latifolia in the west Siwalik. The deciduous hill forest dominated by Anogeissus latifolia is replaced by the subtropical scrub composed of Olea cuspidata, Dodonea viscosa etc. in the further west. On the north-facing slope, the wet Sal forest replaces Castanopsis indicaSchima wallichiana forest in the west Siwalik where the dryness caused by the increase of mediterraneity of climate is prevailing. The Siwalik range provides corridors on the south and north sides of the range for the eastward migration of western elements and westward distribution of eastern elements. In the Lesser Himalayas, Quercus lanuginosa-Q. incana forest is replaced by Q. incana forest in West Nepal, and Q. incana forest occurs on the all exposures in West Nepal and Kumaon region in India and then it is confined to the northern side of the Lesser Himalayas westwards. Cedrus deodara forest replaces Q. incana forest on the southern slopes of the western Lesser Himalayas where Q. incana forest move to the northern side. The Himalayan corridors are twisted in this way.

Composition of the Leaf and Inflorescence Essential Oil of Pogostemon benghalensis Burm. F. from Kumaon

Two samples of Pogostemon benghalensis Burm. F. collected from different altitudes of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand have been analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The inflorescence oil of sample I contained β-bisabolene (18%), ( E)-β-ocimene (3.7%), and 1-octen-3-ol (2.7%), but the leaf oil showed a high elemol content (20.5%), along with β-caryophyllene (12.5%), β-copaen-4α-ol (7.7%), α-humulene (4%), and linalool (2.1%). In contrast, the inflorescence oil of sample II possessed β-caryophyllene (15.2%), β-copaen-4α-ol (9.6%), and β-bisabolene (8%), while ( E)-β-ocimene (5.2%), elemol (4%), α-guaiene (3.8%), and humulene epoxide II (2.4%) were found in the leaf essential oil. Elemol, β-copaen-4α-ol, ( Z)- and ( E)-β-ocimene are being reported for the first time from this species.

Ethnomedicinal Plant Uses in a Small Tribal Community in a Part of Central Himalaya, India

The Raji tribe a smallest group among the native societies of Central Himalaya, inhabiting in Kumaon region bordering to Nepal, has strong faith and belief in traditional health care system, viz. h...

State Formation in Community Spaces? Decentralization of Control over Forests in the Kumaon Himalaya, India

In the early part of this century, 1916 and 1921 were especially dry years in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalaya. In each of these years, forest fires racked the countryside, burning beyond the power of the colonial British government to control or extinguish. It was not just the dry weather that was to blame. Villagers in Kumaon set the forest on fire; the dry weather merely helped their efforts along. The containment of this “planned incendiarism” was one of the main planks of the scientific forestry that the colonial state had begun to introduce in the hills in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and especially from around 1910.

Volatile Constituents of Hyptis pectinata Poit. (Lamiaceae)

The essential oil from leaves of Hyptis pectinata Poit. from the Kumaon region of India was analyzed by GC, GC/MS, GC/FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. Thirty-three constituents, mainly mono- and sesquinoids, were identified. The oil composition has been compared with that of the oils obtained from H. pectinata growing on the Fiji Islands and in West Africa. The insecticidal properties of the oil have been discussed briefly.

The Volatile Constituents ofElsholtzia flava1

The volatile constituents of the essential oil from Elsholtzia flava Benth. growing in higher elevations of Kumaon region (India) were characterized by combination of GC, GC-MS, GC-FT-IR and NMR. Twenty-two components were identified comprising 93% of the oil. Rose furan (45.0%) and estragol (40.5%) were the major constituents.

A Comparative Study of Monsoonal and Non-Monsoonal Himalayan Lakes, India

Sedimentological, mineral magnetic and carbon isotopic studies on cores from Mansar Lake in the Jammu area provide paleomonsoonal history dating back to 580 bc. From ca. 580 bc to ad 300, the region experienced precipitation similar to the present, whereas from ad 300 to 1400, the monsoon was relatively subdued. A small excursion ca. ad 1100 suggests an effect of medieval warming. Studies in the Kumaon region did not provide a proper precipitation record, as anthropogenic activity interfered with sedimentation. Manasbal Lake in Kashmir gave an inversion of 14C chronology due to younger paleosols in the drainage basin. Further, the episodic nature of sedimentation in Manasbal Lake hampered the reconstruction of precipitation history in the area.

Inversion of seismological data using a controlled random search global optimization technique

Inversion problems in seismology deal with the estimation of the location and the time of occurrence of an earthquake from observations of the arrival time of the body waves. These problems can be regarded as non-linear optimization problems in which the objective function to be minimized is the discrepancy between the recorded arrival times and the calculated arrival times at a prescribed set of observation stations, as a function of the hypocentral parameters and the wave speed structure of the Earth. The objective of the present paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a controlled random search algorithm of global optimization (Shanker and Mohan, 1987; Mohan and Shanker, 1988) in solving such types of inversion problems. The performance of the algorithm has been tested on earthquake arrival time data of earthquakes recorded in the vicinity of local networks in the Garhwal Kumaon region of the Himalayas.

Hitherto unknown alate morphs of two species of Eumyzus Shinji (Homoptera: Aphididae) from India with a key to alate viviparous females

AbstractThe hitherto unknown alate viviparous females of Eumyzus pruni Chakrabarti & Bhattacharya and Eumyzus hydrangi Chakrabarti & Bhattacharya from the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of northwest Himalaya are described and illustrated. A key is provided to all of the known alate viviparous females of Eumyzus species known from throughout the world.

A comparison of dermatoglyphic methodologies in population studies.

Use of dermatoglyphics in population studies has been marked by a great deal of methodological variation among investigators. We compare various dermatoglyphic approaches using data derived from four groups in the Kumaon region of India. Dermatoglyphic data included ridge-counts and other quantitative variables, and the classification systems of Cummins and Midlo and Penrose and Loesch. Results were evaluated against anthropometric and serological relationships. No clearly superior approach emerges, although it is generally true that palmar variables exhibit more intergroup heterogeneity than digital variables and produce more reasonable results than the other approaches. The conventional method of treating ridge-counts, that of choosing the larger of the two counts, was the most unsatisfactory of the quantitative approaches, leading to the recommendation that both radial and ulnar counts be retained. We conclude that environmental variation may contribute substantially to intergroup variation.

Environment Agriculture and Nutrition in Kumaon Region

Environment Agriculture and Nutrition in Kumaon Region