A review on the genus Calophyllum (Clusiaceae): a potential medicinal tree species

Calophyllum is the genus of evergreen tropical flowering plants in the Clusiaceae family. They are predominantly located in Asia with some of its genus distributed in the Pacific Islands, Americas, Australasia and Africa. Plants of the genus are well known for their chemical properties with lots of secondary metabolites such as triterpenes, flavonoids, coumarins and xanthones. Compounds from Calophyllum have been reported to have cytoprotective, anti-HIV, anti-secretory, cytotoxic, antinociceptive, molluscicidal and antimicrobial properties. Some of the plants in Calophyllum are used in folk medicine to treat conditions like peptic ulcers, tumours, inflammation, infections and pain. Calophyllum genus is important with respect to their ecological as well as their medicinal properties. But in India, some species located in Western Ghats are in vulnerable stage. Even so, there is no remarkable studies carried out about this genus. So, for a sustainable environment, we should focus on the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the genus that makes huge differences in their population. This article reviews the genus Calophyllum of Western Ghats as a potential medicinal tree species

Effect of desiccation damage on the seed viability of Hydnocarpus alpina Wight. of Western Ghats

Hydnocarpus alpina Wight is an evergreen endangered medicinal tree species of Western Ghats. Several local names are available based on the distribution among the state in India that is Torathi (Kannada), Maravetti/Marotti (Malayalam), Attuchankalai (Tamil), Kastel (Hindi). Hydnocarpus alpina has very appreciated value in various medicinal properties like anti-larvicidal, anti-feedant, antimicrobial etc. due to the presence of significant chemical constituents. The seeds of this tree species are characterized with high moisture content and are intolerant to desiccation. They are under recalcitrant type seeds.Fully mature H. alpina seeds have 20% moisture content on harvest and recorded 80% germination. After 2 weeks of desiccation at open laboratory conditions (28±2 °C and 65% RH) their moisture content and percentage of germination decreased to 10.2% and 20 % respectively. Complete loss of viability occurred at 10% moisture level. This clearly indicates the recalcitrant nature of seeds. Different biochemical parameters such as lipid peroxidation, leachate conductivity, assay of free radical scavenging enzymes, analysis of primary metabolites like total soluble sugars, starch, total proteins, amino acids, lipids, phenols etc. were recorded for finding the biochemical basis of desiccation induced damage on seed viability. The results of the study reveals the metabolic disturbances associated with the desiccation of seeds and such parameters can be considered as markers for assessing the seed viability. Hence, safest low moisture content for the long term storage of seeds can be identified for the conservation of this endangered species of Western Ghats