Discovering the wonders of Malaysian orchids: unveiling Vanilla Norashikiniana

Orchids as one of the largest flowering plant family numbering more than 25,000 species worldwide are part of the priceless green and aesthetic bioresources in our country. Malaysia is home to over 3,000 species of the most beautiful and mysterious plants species, with more than 1,000 are found in Peninsular Malaysia. Many wild species are high priced commodity as Gold of Kinabalu, Paphiopedilum rothchildianum ranked the 5th most expensive orchid in the world with price tagged at £3,800 ten years ago needed at least 15 years to flower and is currently claimed to be on the verge of extinction, which could push prices up even more. The vanilla orchid, which is represented by 12 species in Malaysia are another huge economic potential commodity species with at least three species that could produce vanilla essence

Phytochemical and Antibacterial Screening of Chromolaena odorata Leaf Extract

The discovery of antibacterial drugs from natural sources as a substitute for preventing bacterial resistance has become necessary due to the increase in bacterial drug resistance. Chromolaena odorata has been reported to have antibacterial effects. Therefore, this study investigated the phytochemical components and antibacterial properties of C. odorata leaves. C. odorata leaves were collected, prepared, and extracted using a standard procedure with 95% methanol and 95% ethanol, respectively. Both extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry to detect phytochemical compounds. Chromolaena odorata methanolic extract at a concentration of 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL, 150 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL was carried out for antibacterial screening using the agar well diffusion tested on Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 43330), Bacillus subtilis (B29), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442). The methanolic extract was present with tannin, terpenoid, alkaloid, and saponin while ethanolic extract was present with tannin and alkaloid. The GC-MS chromatogram identified as many as 27 and 19 compounds for ethanolic and methanolic extract, respectively. The C. odorata ethanolic extract consists mainly of Phenol (0.51%), Sesquiterpenoid (20.69%) and Fatty acid (39.2%). Meanwhile, C. odorata methanolic extract consists of Sesquiterpenoid (62.26%) and Fatty acid (17.11%). Antibacterial activity of S. aureus was the highest inhibition zone diameter with 7.67 mm to 10.33 mm from 50 mg/ml to 200 mg/mL concentration of C. odorata extract. Escherichia coli and B. subtilis inhibition zones diameter was 200 mg/mL concentration of C. odorata extract. No antibacterial activities were obtained for P. aeruginosa. This study suggests that C. odorata consists of a variety of phytochemicals and contains antibacterial properties. Thus, C. odorata represents a promising natural source for antibacterial resistance drugs

VANILLA YERSINIANA (ORCHIDACEAE), A NEW RECORD FOR PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

MAT ESA, M. I., NORDIN, F. A., GO, R. & RAFFI, A. 2021. Vanilla yersiniana (Orchidaceae), a new record for Peninsular Malaysia. Reinwardtia 20(2): 51−55. — The genus Vanilla Plum. ex Mill. from Peninsular Malaysia is now enriched with the discovery of a newly recorded species, Vanilla yersiniana that made up its regional diversity to eight taxa. This species was documented from two adjacent secondary lowland forests in Perak; further south to the southern tail of Thailand. This paper describes the first record of V. yersiniana in Peninsular Malaysia with some highlights of its morphology and ecology. The data presented will add to the present state of knowledge on the species botanical profile

A new Vanilla species from Peninsular Malaysia

A new species, Vanilla sanguineovenosa R. Go & A. Raffi, from Peninsular Malaysia is described, illustrated, and other aspects of interest discussed. It is so far known from a small population in lower montane forests at Tapah, Perak. A field key to the Peninsular Malaysian taxa, including V. sumatrana is also provided

Malaysian Vanilla: species diversity, threats and conservation action plan

The diversity in Vanilla genus from Malaysia was updated after the checklist by Soto Arenas and Cribb (2010) with the discovery of two undescribed species and few new records which made up the genus to be most likely represented by nine species. In general, wild vanilla populations were difficult to locate and distributed in many habitats. The taxa localized in Peninsular and Borneo showed different physiological behaviour but experiencing similar depleting factors in their natural habitats. The Checklist of CITES Appendices rated Vanilla spp. under Appendix II which are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but their trade must be closely controlled and monitored. Malaysian Vanilla were oberved to be vulnerable to several threats including poor taxonomic information and revision, forest fragmentation, natural disaster and natural leaves abscission phenomenon. A conservatory action plan was proposed to protect the genus from depletion as they served as important secondary gene pool in the crop improvement program of V. planifolia which produce one of the world precious flavouring agent, vanillin

ORCHIDS OF BUNGO RANGE

Orchids, which belong to the large angiosperm family of Orchidaceae, are valued for their unique floral morphological features and ecological services owing to their sensitivity towards changes in the surrounding environment along with complex interactions with other biotic components. Orchids are widely distributed in Malaysia, from the coastal forests to the mountain peaks, where its highest diversity has been documented predominantly in the mixed dipterocarp forests type (Wood, 1984). It is estimated that the present number of orchids are an astonishing 28,000 species worldwide from 763 genera (the number is most likely to exceed 100,000 species if all the hybrids are accounted for) (Otero, 2012). Approximately 10% of the total species are recorded from the Borneo Island, of which 1,200 species can be found in Sarawak (Beaman et al., 2000). However, it is expected that more species are yet to be documented from this species-rich region as Sarawak is blessed with vast and unexplored forested areas

A new Vanilla species from Peninsular Malaysia

A new species, Vanilla sanguineovenosa R. Go & A. Raffi, from Peninsular Malaysia is described, illustrated, and other aspects of interest discussed. It is so far known from a small population in lower montane forests at Tapah, Perak. A field key to the Peninsular Malaysian taxa, including V. sumatrana is also provided

A PROVISIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORCHIDS OF THE ULU BALEH NATIONAL PARK, KAPIT, SARAWAK

The diversity of orchids was surveyed at several localities in the Baleh National Park, in Southeast Sarawak adjacent to the international border between Malaysia and Indonesia (Kalimantan). A total of 75 species, representing 36 genera, was collected. Most of the species were epiphytic. Terrestrial species included Bromheadia finlaysoniana, Corymborkis veratrifolia, Plocoglottis acuminata and the saprophytic Lecanorchis malaccensis. Arundina graminifolia and Dendrobium hosei were very common

ORCHIDS OF LONG BANGA

A total of 150 specimens were collected from 6 sites (3 trails and 3 non-trails) in Long Banga forests and they were identified into 118 species. Most of the species documented were epiphytes including an endemic giant orchid, Dimorphorchis lowii and a member of the most appreciated orchid as agricultural crop, Vanilla cf. havilandii. In addition, 15 terrestrials and 3 saprophytes namely Aphyllorchis montana, Cystorchis stenoglossa and Gastrodia javanica were also documented during the study. Seventeen species were identified as new records for Sarawak

Vanilla norashikiniana R. Go et A. Raffi sp. nov., A New Orchid Species From Peninsular Malaysia

A new species, Vanilla norashikiniana R. Go et A. Raffi, from Peninsular Malaysia is described and other aspects of interest discussed. It is so far known from a population in lower dipterocarp forests in Hutan Lipur Chemerong, Hulu Dungun, Terengganu and Hutan Simpan Semangkok, Selangor. A field key to the Peninsular Malaysian taxa (including Vanilla shenzhenica) is also provided