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Characterization of plants with DNA markers is an ideal approach for identification of medicinal plant species as they provide objectively analyzable data for accurate and fast identification. There are many medicinal plants described in ancient literatures that have not been exploited for their medicinal values. A documented treasure of traditional knowledge of Kerala’s Ayurvedic and folklore practices is the ‘Hortus Malabaricus’. Description of various useful medicinal plants and their use as single drug can be seen in this ethnomedicinal compendium. The plants Justicia betonica Linn., Thottea siliquosa Lam., Memecylon edule Roxb., Pajanelia longifolia (Willd) K. Schum.) and Bauhinia accuminata Linn described in Hortus Malabaricus are considered to possess immense therapeutic potentials. As the Ayurveda industry as well as practitioners are facing severe scarcity of required medicinal plants, search for establishing the claimed pharmacologic values of hitherto unexplored plants is to be promoted. For this purpose, their proper identification and authentication is needed as a first step of scientific experiments. The molecular characterization including DNA isolation and sequencing provides fast and accurate identification of medicinal plant species. In this project, the molecular characterization of Justicia betonica, Thottea siliquosa, Memecylon edule, Pajanelia longifolia and Bauhinia accuminata, including DNA isolation and quantification, NCBI-BLAST analysis and DNA sequencing was done. The sequence analysis of Thottea siliquosa, Memecylon edule, Bauhinia accuminata and Justicia betonica by BLASTN (NCBI) is revealed 99 to 100 % nucleotide sequence homology with different database sequences enabling species level confirmation.

Acanthaceae is a flowering plants family under the order Lamiales and comprises at least 4,000 species regardless of tropical and subtropical species with Justicia being the largest genus under this family. The study on the flower’s petal and sepal micromorphology have been done on six Justicia species, namely as Justicia betonica L., J. carnea Lindl., J. comata (L.) Lam., J. gendarussa Burm.f., J. procumbens L. and J. ptychostoma Nees. Methodology used involves fixation, dehydration series, critical point drying technique and observation under scanning electron microscope. Results have shown that all six species have differences in micromorphological characteristics in the sepals and petals epidermal surfaces. Cuticular wax can be found on both abaxial and adaxial epidermal surfaces of petal and sepal for all species studied. Granular cuticular wax is the only type of cuticular wax was found present on petal and sepal of all species studied. There are also eight types of trichomes present on the petal epidermal surface and eight types of trichomes present on the sepal epidermal surface. J. betonica can be recognised directly by having amphidiacytic stomata on petal epidermal surface while stomata were absent on the petal epidermal surface of other species. As a conclusion, findings in this study have proven that petal and sepal micromorphological characteristics have systematic significant and can be used as supporting data for species differentiation and identification in the genus Justicia.

Ethnopharmacological relevance The aim of the survey was to document medicinal plants used in malaria treatment by Prometra (Promocion de la medicina tradicional amazonica) Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) of Uganda and for search of new antiplasmodial herbal medicines (HMs) for further phytochemical analysis. Materials and methods In this study, semi structured guided open and close ended questionnaires were used. Focus group discussions were conducted and key informants were chosen within the TMPs who helped in further discussions of how the herbal remedies where collected, prepared and administered. Results A sample size of 51 respondents was randomly selected among the TMPs with the help of their leader. 86 species distributed over 81 genera and 39 families were reportedly being used as herbal remedies in malaria treatment. The TMPs use symptoms like high temperature, shivering, among others in malaria diagnosis an indication that they understand malaria. They emphasized the use of leaves and bark in treatment because they can regenerate and therefore ensure sustainable use of plants rather than the use of roots which would be destructive. These TMPS treat and also advise their patients on preventive measures against malaria attacks like sleeping under mosquito nets, clearing bushes near homesteads, among others which is an indication that they help in the prevention and mitigation of malaria incidences and prevalence in the areas where they live. The Informant Consensus Factor (FIC) value of 0.8 demonstrated that the TMPs of Prometra-Uganda tend to agree with each other in terms of the plant species they use in malaria treatment an indication of quality control in as far as administration of the herbal remedies. Vernonia amygdalina Delile, Bidens pilosa L., Justicia betonica L. were highly cited as being used in malaria treatment with frequencies of mention of 38, 28 and 25, respectively. Conclusion TMPs of Prometra-Uganda understand and treat malaria using the available plant diversity from their huge forest and the herbal gardens within Buyija forest. The healers are very keen at plant conservation which is a good practice. Species like Justica betonica may be investigated further for antiplasmodial assays to justify its efficacy.

Malaria is a fatal disease caused by different Plasmodium species of parasites and has remained the major killer of humans worldwide especially the children under five years of age and pregnant women. In this study, the anti-Plasmodia activities of the crude leaf ether extracts of Aloe dawei (AD) and Justicia betonica (JB) on Plasmodium falciparum were investigated, with chloroquine diphosphate as a positive control. The results showed that ether extracts of JB had EC50 of 13.36 (95% CI: 8.032 to 22.23) µg/ml and AD had 7.965 (95% CI: 3.557 to 17.84) µg/ml. The chloroquine diphosphate had EC50 of 24.86 (95% CI: 9.239 to 66.89) µg/ml. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of the ether extract showed that JB contains steroids and triterpenoids, alkaloids and saponins while AD contained steroids and triterpenoids, anthraquinolones, alkaloids and saponins. The results provides evidence that JB and AD contain compounds with anti-P. falciparum activity and hence their use by the traditional herbalist and local communities in treatment of malaria. Key words: Anti-Plasmodium falciparum, activity, EC50, Aloe dawei, Justicia betonica.

Comparative anatomical study on flower petals was studied in four selected Justicia species from Peninsular Malaysia, i.e. J. comata (L.) Lam., J. carnea Lindl. J. betonica Linn. and J. procumbens L with the objective to provide useful data for species identification and differentiation within the genus of Justicia. Methods used in this study are mechanical scrapping on the leaf surfaces and observation under light microscope. Finding in this study has shown that all species are sharing similar type of anticlinal walls pattern, which is sinuous pattern. Two or more type of trichomes is present in all species studied and this character can be used to differentiate Justicia species. Simple multicellular trichomes are found to be present in all species studied. Justicia betonica can be isolated from other species by the existence of cyclo-paracytic stomata on the petal surfaces.

Aim of study We performed an ethnobotanical study of plants used to treat malaria in Nyakayojo sub-county in south western Uganda because malaria in this region, and in Uganda at large, is still the single most important reason for ill health and mortality. Two of the most vulnerable groups affected by malaria are young children and pregnant women and plants are commonly used in their treatment. Materials and methods Twenty-eight traditional birth attendants were interviewed about how they used plants to treat malaria. Review of the literature available on all species identified was undertaken. Results Altogether 56 plant species were used by the informants, 48 of which have been identified to species level. Thirty-two (67%) of the species used by the respondents are documented for antimalarial use in other studies, and nearly half (44%) have documented anti-plasmodial activity. Fifty-five percent of the species were used by 2 or more of the respondents. The most commonly used species were Vernonia amygdalina, the indigenous Aloe species, Justicia betonica, Vernonia adoensis and Tithonia diversifolia. It was common to use more than one plant in a recipe (43%). The respondents had good knowledge of the symptom of malaria, and fairly good understanding of the causes. Conclusion The interviews show that the group of traditional birth attendants has an extensive and diverse knowledge on plants used in the treatment of malaria. The literature survey may indicate a possible explanation for the use of several plants.

Cytological studies have been made on 19 species of Acanthaceae from Pachmarhi hills in Central India. Present studies reveal the first count of chromosome numbers for four species, namely,Dyschoriste depressa Nees,n=30;Lepidagathis fasciculata Nees,n=10;L. hyalina Nees,n=10 andJusticia diffusa Willd. var.prostrata Roxb.,n=9. New cytotypes have been located in three species asHemigraphis latebrosa Nees,n=28 (4x);Rungia parviflora Nees,n=13 (2x) andR. pectinata Nees,n=13 (2x). Diploid cytotypes of three species,viz., Blepharis maderaspatensis (Linn.) Roth,n=15;Justicia betonica Linn.,n=17 andThunbergia alata Bojer ex. Sims,n=9 have been detected for the first time from India. An analysis of the worked out species reveals the existence of only 10·53% polyploid species.