Temperate Himalayas Research Articles

Persistent occurrence of meiotic abnormalities in a new hexaploid cytotype of Thalictrum foetidum from Indian cold deserts

Thalictrum foetidum L. (Ranunculaceae), a morphologically variable and widely distributed species of temperate and alpine Himalayas is worked out cytologically for the first time from India. Earlier studies from outside India were restricted to chromosome counts and karyotypic analysis. We studied the male meiosis, microsporogenesis and pollen viability in the wild accessions from the cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Pangi Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Present cytomorphological surveys in the species record the existence of two distinct morphotypes involving plant size; colour and size of leaf/leaflet; dentation of leaflet lobes; and degree of leaf pubescence. All the accessions in the two morphovariants share the same meiotic chromosome number (n = 21) and adds a new intraspecific hexaploid cytotype. The accessions show the phenomenon of cytomixis involving transfer of chromatin material among proximate pollen mother cells (PMCs) and associated meiotic abnormalities like, out of plate bivalents, interchromosomal connections, and laggards, bridges and micronuclei at anaphases/telophases. Microsporogenesis results into abnormal sporads (tetrads with micronuclei, dyads, triads and polyads). The products of such sporads resulted into some pollen sterility and pollen grains of heterogeneous sizes. The persistent occurrence of phenomenon of cytomixis and associated meiotic abnormalities and consequently pollen sterility and pollen grains of heterogeneous sizes in the hexaploid cytotype of T. foetidum seems to be under some genetic factors associated with the genome.

ChemInform Abstract: Structure of Prudomestin.

3,5,7-Trihydroxy-8-methoxy-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4H1-benzopyran-4-one, C17H1407, M r = 330.3, triclinic, P1, a = 6.579 (5), b = 8.441 (7), c = 13.893 (14) A, a = 101.92 (9), fl = 103.38 (6), y = 97.44 (6) °, V = 721 A. 3, Z = 2, Dx = 1.52 g cm -3, Mo Ka radiation, A = 0.71069 A, /z = 1.2 cm-1, F(000) = 344, T = 200 K, R = 0.076 for 1534 unique observed [1/o-(/)_>2.0] reflections. The definitive structure of prudomestin is established by this investigation. The molecule is essentially planar with the methyl groups projecting above and below the plane. The major intermolecular force within a layer of molecules in the solid state results from hydrogen bonding. Introduction. Prunus domestica Linn. is the tree of the well-known fruit plum and grows ideally in the western temperate Himalayas and is cultivated for its fruit in India. Its fruits are used as a mild laxative and demulcent and, in combination with other drugs, they are used in leucorrhoea, irregular menstruation and debility following miscarriage (Chopra, Nayar & Chopra, 1956). The prudomestin used in this study 0108-2701/92/061090-03506.00 was extracted from the wood of Prunus domestica Linn. The objective of this investigation was to provide an unambiguous identification of the structure of prudomestin. Experimental. The prudomestin was isolated from the hot-water soluble portion of the benzene solubles of an alcoholic extract from the heartwood of Prunus domestica Linn. collected from Baramulla, Kashmir, India. The compound was recrystallized from chloroform-petrol and separated as yellow needles. Data were collected with a Siemens P3R3 fourcircle diffractometer in co-28 mode. The crystal was held at 200 K with an Oxford Cryosystems Cryostream Cooler (version 2.4); this temperature was chosen because the crystal diffracted rather poorly under ambient conditions. Maximum 20 was 50 ° with scan range _+ 0.7 ° (28) around the K a l Kot2 angles, scan speed 3-29 ° mini , depending on the intensity of the 2 s prescan; backgrounds were measured at each end of the scan for 0.25 of the scan time. hkl ranges were 0/7, 9/10, 15/15 (unique reflections only). Three standard reflections were © 1992 International Union of Crystallography V I R I N D E R S. P A R M A R et al. 1091 Table 1. Atomic coordinates (x 104) and equivalent isotropic thermal parameters (/~2 x 103) Ucq is defined as one third of the trace of the orthogonalized U U tensor.

A PROTOCOL FOR HIGH FREQUENCY PLANT REGENERATION THROUGH SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS IN SWERTIA CHIRATA BUCH.-HAM. EX. C.B. CLARKE

Plants which provide man with food, fodder, medicine, shelter are rapidly eroding mainly due to growing population and various development activities. Conserving valuable genetic resources has become the need of the hour. Like other countries, India too is deeply committed to conservation of its natural resources. Wild plants have a more important role in medicine and food than cultivated species. These plants are at the same time hardy and resistant. Swertia chirata (Buch.-Ham. ex C.B. Clarke) belongs to family Gentiaceae is an erect annual herb found in the temperate Himalayas at an altitude of 1,200-3,000 m from Kashmir to Bhutan and in the Khasi hills in Meghalaya at 1,200-1,500 m. It is a medicinally important plant. The whole plant is medicinal but the root is the most powerful part of the medicinal use. The drug (chiretta), obtained from the dried plant. The stems form the major portion of the drug as the roots are very small in size 5-10 cm long. It is one of the 32 plant species identified as priority species for cultivation and conservation by the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB), India. S. chirata found in the wild and posses a number of medicinal values. It is used in diuretic, dyspepsia, laxative, fever and anaemia etc. This plant is endangered due to over exploitation of forest and destruction of habitats. A programme was therefore, undertaken at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India to develop a protocol for in vitro plant regeneration. It is reported first time the success of high frequency somatic embryo development and plantlet formation of S. chirata through embryogenic callus induced from immature seeds.

Chemical constituents of Asparagus

Asparagus species (family Liliaceae) are medicinal plants of temperate Himalayas. They possess a variety of biological properties, such as being antioxidants, immunostimulants, anti-inflammatory, antihepatotoxic, antibacterial, antioxytocic, and reproductive agents. The article briefly reviews the isolated chemical constituents and the biological activities of the plant species. The structural formula of isolated compounds and their distribution in the species studied are also given.

In Vitro Propagation of Endangered Temperate Himalayan Medicinal Herb Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth using Leaf Explants and Nodal Segments

The present study describes the micropropagation of Picrorhiza kurroa, (commonly known as kutki) an endangered medicinal herb of the temperate Himalayas and a source of hepatoprotective picrosides. In vitro shoot multiplication was achieved through sprouting of axillary buds using nodal segments and leaf tissue. For shoot regeneration, the hormone combinations kinetin (2.0 mg l−1) and Kinetin + Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (2.0 mg l−1 + 0.50 mg l−1) with leaf explant was found superior. Interestingly, the basal MS medium gave 99.94 % response (direct proliferation) with nodal explant. The medium supplemented with IBA (1.0 mg −1) was found best for rooting of regenerated shoots. Nodal segments plated on the medium supplemented with TDZ + IBA (0.11 mg −1 + 0.50 mg −1) formed somatic embryos, however further regeneration could not be achieved. The in vitro raised plantlets were hardened and successfully established in the glass house conditions.

Anti-inflammatory and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitory activities of Rumex nepalensis Spreng

Rumex nepalensis Spreng (Polygonaceae) is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant found in the temperate Himalayas between 1200–2700m altitudes [1]. The root extract was reported to block prostaglandin production in the skin of rabbits [2]. Based on this preliminary experimental evidence and as a part of our ongoing search for COX inhibitors from Indian medicinal plants [3], we have aimed the present study to evaluate anti-inflammatory, COX-2 inhibitory activity of roots of R. nepalensis and to isolate and characterize the bioactive compounds.

Analysis of genetic diversity among Swertia chirayita genotypes

Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to analyse genetic diversity of Swertia chirayita genotypes collected from the temperate Himalayas of India. Allied species of Swertia chirayita were used in the study as outliers. Nineteen UBC primers generated a total of 315 ISSR bands, revealing 98.7 % polymorphism among the genotypes assayed. This was reduced to 42.5 % when the outliers were excluded. The results revealed a high genetic diversity within the genotypes.

Axillary multiplication of Swertia chirayita (Roxb. Ex Fleming) H. Karst., a critically endangered medicinal herb of temperate Himalayas

The present study describes the micropropagation of Swertia chirayita, an endangered medicinal herb of the temperate Himalayas, through axillary multiplication from 4-wk-old seedling-derived nodal explants. We obtained 4.5-fold multiplication every 4 wk on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 4 μM benzyl amino purine (BA) and 1.5 μM 6-(γ,γ-dimethylallylamino)purine (2iP). Rooting was optimized on modified MS medium supplemented with 1 μM naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 500 mg l−1 of activated charcoal (AC). A success rate of 94 % was obtained by in vitro hardening in the growth-room and by ex vitro hardening in greenhouse conditions. The present study can serve as a tool for the mass multiplication of elite genotypes of this critically endangered species and can also be utilized for multiplying large numbers of quality planting material for the replantation in their natural habitat. This approach can also help meet the requirements of the growing pharmaceutical industry by ensuring the regular supply of authentic planting material.

Documentation of traditional knowledge about wild medicinal plants of moist temperate Himalayas in Pakistan

The moist temperate Himalayas, as one of the major ecological zone of Pakistan, deserve specific attention to the conservation of environment and the sustainable development of natural resources. During the last hundred years, the area has been subjected to major structural changes leading to a decrease of about fifty per cent of the potential forest area. The decrease in forest cover, combined with major changes in community structure has been responsible for the decline of indigenous medicinal plants resources and their traditional knowledge also. Ayubia National Park has been identified as one of the priority area to be focused for medicinal plant conservation. The study was aimed to analyze traditional knowledge including local names, general distribution, flowering period, part used, medicinal and other uses, market values and taxonomic diversity of the medicinal plant of the area The field surveys were conducted by adopting predefined questionnaires through guided and transect walks. The market oriented indigenous species have been subjected through IUCN criterion for evaluation of their conservation status. Traditional knowledge about 117 indigenous medicinal plants (including 8 cultivated ones) have been collected from 140 informants. Women followed by children have been identified as the principle gatherers of medicinal plants. About 44 species were found to be market oriented. According to this criterion, eleven species including two trees (Juglans regia, Taxus wallichiana), one shrub (Berberis lycium) and eight herbaceous species (Asparagus adscendens, Atropa acuminata, Colchicum luteum, Dioscorea deltoidea, Podophyllum hexandrum, Rheum australe, Saussurea costus and Valeriana jatamansi) have been found as endangered. It has been concluded that Traditional knowledge in Moist Temperate Himalayas of Pakistan is under threat of being lost. Availability of cultivated land is quite less, the establishment of botanical gardens, home gardens or kitchen gardens may be the best ex situ conservation strategy, which can be adopted for sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. While clearly defined land tenure system and community participation in park management will be the best in situ conservation measure for adoptation.

Vegetative propagation of Himalayan Yew (Taxus baccata Linn.) through branch cuttings

The study was conducted to determine the effect of various chemicals including auxins, crown position, cutting portion and preconditioning (girdling) treatments on rooting behaviour of Taxus baccata - a taxol yielding tree of moist temperate Himalaya. Application of 0.75% IBA + 5% captan + 5% sucrose in August resulted in highest 72.22 per cent rooting in the species. The girdled cuttings produced significantly higher rooting than non-girdled ones. Similarly, the lower portion of cuttings resulted in significantly better success as compared to upper ones.

Essential oil composition of Bothriochloa pertusa and phyletic relationship in aromatic grasses

Abstract Chemical composition of the essential oil of Bothriochloa pertusa (L) A. Camus, collected from temperate Himalaya, revealed the major categories of terpenoids as monoterpene hydrocarbons (26.45%), oxygenated monoterpenes (7.29%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (4.73%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (37.05%), in 82.31% of the total volatile constituents identified. Twenty-eight compounds were identified, the major of which are camphene (7.40%), limonene (14.90%), borneol (2.26%), Isobornyl acetate (2.01%), β -caryophyllene (3.10%), intermedeol (24.72%) and acorenone-B (9.80%). B. pertusa contains higher percentage of monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes in comparison to B. bladhi , the only other species of the genus analysed in detail. About 88% of the aromatic grasses are represented by tribe Andropogoneae, that spread globally by late Miocene, possibly a period of the greatest evolutionary diversity in aromatic grasses.

Structure of prudomestin

3,5,7-Trihydroxy-8-methoxy-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4H1-benzopyran-4-one, C17H1407, M r = 330.3, triclinic, P1, a = 6.579 (5), b = 8.441 (7), c = 13.893 (14) A, a = 101.92 (9), fl = 103.38 (6), y = 97.44 (6) °, V = 721 A. 3, Z = 2, Dx = 1.52 g cm -3, Mo Ka radiation, A = 0.71069 A, /z = 1.2 cm-1, F(000) = 344, T = 200 K, R = 0.076 for 1534 unique observed [1/o-(/)_>2.0] reflections. The definitive structure of prudomestin is established by this investigation. The molecule is essentially planar with the methyl groups projecting above and below the plane. The major intermolecular force within a layer of molecules in the solid state results from hydrogen bonding. Introduction. Prunus domestica Linn. is the tree of the well-known fruit plum and grows ideally in the western temperate Himalayas and is cultivated for its fruit in India. Its fruits are used as a mild laxative and demulcent and, in combination with other drugs, they are used in leucorrhoea, irregular menstruation and debility following miscarriage (Chopra, Nayar & Chopra, 1956). The prudomestin used in this study 0108-2701/92/061090-03506.00 was extracted from the wood of Prunus domestica Linn. The objective of this investigation was to provide an unambiguous identification of the structure of prudomestin. Experimental. The prudomestin was isolated from the hot-water soluble portion of the benzene solubles of an alcoholic extract from the heartwood of Prunus domestica Linn. collected from Baramulla, Kashmir, India. The compound was recrystallized from chloroform-petrol and separated as yellow needles. Data were collected with a Siemens P3R3 fourcircle diffractometer in co-28 mode. The crystal was held at 200 K with an Oxford Cryosystems Cryostream Cooler (version 2.4); this temperature was chosen because the crystal diffracted rather poorly under ambient conditions. Maximum 20 was 50 ° with scan range _+ 0.7 ° (28) around the K a l Kot2 angles, scan speed 3-29 ° mini , depending on the intensity of the 2 s prescan; backgrounds were measured at each end of the scan for 0.25 of the scan time. hkl ranges were 0/7, 9/10, 15/15 (unique reflections only). Three standard reflections were © 1992 International Union of Crystallography V I R I N D E R S. P A R M A R et al. 1091 Table 1. Atomic coordinates (x 104) and equivalent isotropic thermal parameters (/~2 x 103) Ucq is defined as one third of the trace of the orthogonalized U U tensor.

Puddumin-B, a New Flavanone Glycoside fromPrunus cerasoides

AbstractPuddumin-B, a new flavanone glycoside (naringenin-4′-methyl-ether - 7-O-β-D-galactoside) has been isolated from Prunus cerasoides and characterised by spectroscopic and chemical methods.Prunus cerasoides D. Don (syn. P. puddum Rosaceae), is a tree distributed in the temperate Himalayas to an altitude of 1700 m (1,2). The stems are reported to be antipyretic, refrigerant and useful in vomiting, leprosy and leucoderma (1,2). Chemical examination of P. cerasoides has been done by various workers (3–12). The present paper reports the isolation, and characterisation of a new flavanone glycoside, naringenin-4-methyl ether-7-O-β-D-galactoside from the stem bark of P. cerasoides.

The genusquercus in the Karewa deposits of Kashmir, with remarks on the oak forests of the Kashmir Valley during the pleistocene

1. The genusQuercus is abundantly represented in Karewa flora by five well determined species, namely,Q. dilatata, Q. semecarpifolia, Q. Ilex,Q. incana andQ. glauca which form the greater part of the material collected by Middlemiss, de Terra, Sahni, Stewart and the author from the Lower Karewa lake deposits of the Pleistocene age exposed at Liddarmarg, Gogajipathri, Dangarpur, Laredura and Botapathri. 2. The oaks, which must have been dominant trees in the flora of the Kashmir Valley during the Pleistocene, are unrepresented in the modern vegetation of the valley and of the mountain slopes flanking it to the northeast and south-west. Three of the fossil species, namely,Q. semecarpifolia,Q. dilatata andQ. incana are at present very common in the outer ranges of the western temperate Himalayas, often forming pure forests or occurring with conifers, or broad-leaved trees in the well-defined elevation zones which succeed each other from the higher to the lower altitudes in the above order. Regions with heavy monsoonic rainfall and moderate snowfall (Quercus semecarpifolia reaches the upper limit of the tree growth) are congenial for their growth.Quercus Ilex is confined to the inner dry ranges of the Himalayas, whereasQuercus glauca occurs in the outer ranges at lower elevations. 3. The modern distribution of the five species is given in some detail and their present associates (conifers and broad-leaved genera) in different types of forests in the Himalayas are mentioned. 4. The significance of the occurrence of the oaks in the Kashmir Valley during the Pleistocene is discussed and it is concluded that the valley, at a time when the oak forests were flourishing on the northern slopes of the Pir Panjal Range must have had a tropical climate unlike the temperate conditions of the present day. 5. The abundance of oak leaves in these deposits supports the universally accepted theory of the Pleistocene uplift of the Himalayas.