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The comparative analysis of the fatty acid composition of Cassia tora(leaves and stem) was determined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Twenty-seven fatty acids were identified in C. tora(leaves and stem) which was collected from three different geographical areas of India: Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Nainital (Uttarakhand), and Bhavnagar (Gujarat), coded as CT-1, CT-2, and CT-3, respectively. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed the presence of various saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acids found were palmitic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, margaric acid, melissic acid, and behenic acid. The highest amounts of saturated fatty acids were found in leaves of C. toracollected from Bhavnagar (Gujarat) (60.7% ± 0.5%). Thus, the study reveals that C. torahas a major amount of nutritionally important fatty acids, along with significant antimicrobial potential. Fatty acids play a significant role in the development of fat products with enhanced nutritional value and clinical application. Remarkable differences were found in the present study between fatty acid profiles of C. toracollected from different locations in India. To the best of our knowledge there is no previously reported comparative study of the fatty acids of C. tora.

Saraca asoca(Roxb.) De Wilde is a valuable tree used in traditional medicine against a variety of ailments. Almost all parts of the tree are used for various commercial herbal preparations. Due to overexploitation, the species is rapidly disappearing from Western Ghats where it is native and grew extensively until recently. Conservation of this important medicinal plant is therefore an urgent need. To plan effective conservation strategies, a scientific assessment of the genetic diversity and distribution is needed. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA fingerprinting was employed and the population genetic structure of seven wild and three cultivated populations totalling 160 individuals of S. asocain the Western Ghats region of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa for analysis. Variation of 89% was observed within populations while 11% was observed among the populations of S. asoca.Gene flow (Nm) of 2.01 was observed, and 0.19 was the degree of genetic differentiation recorded. Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic average (UPGMA) cluster analysis generated a dendrogram that showed an admixture of all genotypes but with two major clusters, which was also supported by a STRUCTURE-based Bayesian model. One wild population was well, but inexplicably, differentiated from the rest. The study shows that there is still considerable genetic diversity existing in natural populations of S. asoca, suggesting good natural cross-pollination, giving encouraging indications that the gene pool is under no immediate threat. Any conservation strategy should utilise the observed genetic variation in the choice of planting stock for programmes of conservation, propagation and reforestation.

Saraca asoca(Roxb.) De Wilde is an important medicinal plant from the Western Ghats of India, traditionally used in treatment of various gynecological disorders. Increasing commercial demand and decreasing numbers has resulted in this plant becoming endangered with crude drug materials being extensively substituted/adulterated with other plant species. The present study was undertaken with the objective of development and evaluation of multivariate cluster analysis of ISSR fingerprints against rbcL-based DNA barcodes as tool to understand the relationships and to differentiate common adulterants and substituents from S. asoca. ISSR-based Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was carried out on 41 samples of S. asocaand 5 each of the 5 common substituent/adulterant plants and the clustering patterns were evaluated against DNA-sequence-based barcoding of rbcLregion of their plastids. Factorial analysis and Principal Coordinate Analysis revealed distinct groups of genetic pools of respective taxa thereby confirming the utility of ISSR fingerprinting as a useful tool for differentiation between the genuine and the adulterants/substituents. NCBI-BLAST search on DNA barcode rbcLregion confirmed the results of ISSR assays. Therefore, our study demonstrated the utility of simple, cost-effective method of ISSR fingerprinting coupled with rbcLbarcoding in differentiating this important medicinal plant from its common adulterants/substituents.

DNA fingerprinting singly or in combination with phytochemical analysis is ideal for quality control of crude plant-based drugs. However, when the source material is tannin rich stem bark, extraction of DNA by conventional methods becomes challenging. In such cases, phytochemical profiling serves as very useful tool for its identification. The work herein described a method for simultaneous DNA isolation and phytochemical extraction for downstream analysis and applications from dried bark powder of Saraca asocaand commercial samples of this crude drug as well as from those of Polyalthia longifolia, its most common adulterant. It is a modified CTAB-based method which involves a pre-extraction step by soaking samples overnight in de-ionized water followed by filtration. The residues in the filter paper were used for DNA isolation and dried filtrate was used for Reverse Phase-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis. Results revealed that genomic DNA isolated was PCR amplifiable with Inter Simple Sequence Repeat and Start Codon Targeted markers. Phenolic compounds of catechin, epicatechin, and gallic acid were detected from the above dried filtrate. The method is simple, reliable and it requires small amount of sample with an option of integrating both phytochemical and DNA-based profiling, from the same starting material. Therefore, the present method could be useful for further potential applications such as quality control assessment of S. asocaproducts.

AbstractHigher and aromatics plants have traditionally been used in folk medicine as well as to extend the shelf life of foods, showing inhibition against bacteria, fungi and yeasts. Most of their properties are due to essential oils produced by their secondary metabolism. Essential oils and extracts from several plant species are able to control microorganisms related to skin, dental caries, and food spoilage, including Gramnegative and Gram-positive bacteria. The present study is based on the evaluation of antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of the fresh leaves of Justicia adhatodaand to identify the chemical constituents responsible for antimicrobial potential. The chemical constituents of essential oil were identified by gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS).The essential oil was evaluated for the antimicrobial potential against methicillin resistant and sensitive Staphylococcus aureusalong with its clinical isolates. GC-MS analysis revealed that the major constituents of the essential oil were phytol (57.8 %), n-hentriacontane (3.92 %), nonacosane (3.65 %), pentacosane (2.65 %), β-Eudesmol (1.14 %), heneicosane (1.13 %). Result indicates that J. adhatodaleaves essential oil has a strong antimicrobial activity against mentioned microorganisms (MIC: 62.5–250 μg/mL).

Terminalia arjunaWight & Arn is used in the Indian traditional medicinal system for the treatment of various cardiac disorders and has been used for the treatment of various human problems like blood diseases, anemia, viral disease, fractures, ulcers, hepatic problems. This study was designed to understand the genetic variation in T. arjunafrom different geographical regions of North-west Himalayas. Using the RAPD-PCR method, a total of 183 DNA bands were amplified from 30 accessions of T. arjunawith an average of 6.1 bands per primer. The amplified band size ranges from 150-1700 bp. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) value ranges from 0.244 (OPB-10) to 0.781 (OPA-02). The Marker Index (MI) values ranged from 0.6075 to 6.248, with an average of 3.1378. The effective multiplex ratio (EMR) values range from 1.33 (OPC-12) to 9 (OPC-20). A positive correlation was observed between PIC and MI (r = 0.83), MI and EMR (r = 0.873) values. The percentage of polymorphic loci among T. arjunapopulations was found to be 71.17%, while AMOVA showed 85% variance within the populations and 15% among the populations. From UPGMA cluster analysis, intermixing of accessions of different populations was observed. This study concludes a genetic variation among different accessions of T. arjuna, indicating good cross-pollination, leading to gene flow between closely located accessions without affecting the gene pool. The genetic diversity information of T. arjunareported in this study is a very important component for efficient conservation and effective management of its genetic resources.