Indigenous ethnobotanical remedies practiced to cure feminine diseases in tribal communities of kashmir himalayas

Women’s reproductive cycles are very clinical and complex, having unwanted medical conditions. Himalayan Women have been trying to enhance their fertility and regulate their reproductive cycles throughout the history by practicing ethnomedicinal remedies, as they are reluctant to expose their feminine problems to doctors due to psychological, social and religious barriers. Present study reveals the ethnomedicinal recipes practiced by mountain women in Kashmir Himalayas for feminine diseases. Data was acquired by planned biological inventories, exclusive interviews and direct observations in the field. A total of 36 plants belonging to 27 families were recorded being practiced for feminine diseases in 43 different recipes. Major feminine diseases treated by ethnomedicine were menstrual disorders (32%); birth pain and bleeding (16%); Contraception and abortion (16%); enhancing fertility (9%), Sexual potency (9%) and Lactation (7%). Major plant parts utilized in recipes were roots (32%), whole plant (16%), leaves (16%), Seeds (9%), latex (7%) and fruit (7%). Decoctions (41%), raw plant parts (24%) and extracts (13%) were prevalent modes of ethnomedicinal remedies. 79.6% respondents were effectively involved in ethnomedicinal practices to treat feminine diseases. An increasing trend towards modern medical treatment was observed in younger generation correlated with higher education level. Paper discuses the ethnomedicinal treatment of feminine diseases in qualitative as well as quantitative methodology and elaborates how the local folklore can be used at regional levels to add new cures in feminine pharmacopeia

Tannin phenotyping of the Vitaceae reveals a phylogenetic linkage of epigallocatechin in berries and leaves

International audienceBackground and AimsCondensed tannins, responsible for berry and wine astringency, may have been selected during grapevine domestication (Narduzzi et al., 2015). This work examines the phylogenetic distribution of condensed tannins throughout the Vitaceae phylogenetic tree.MethodsGreen berries and mature leaves of representative true-to-type members of the Vitaceae were collected before “véraison”, freeze-dried, pulverised, and condensed tannins measured following depolymerization by nucleophilic addition of 2-mercaptoethanol to the C4 of the flavan-3-ol units in an organic acidic medium. Reaction products were separated and quantitated by UPLC/DAD/MS.Key Results and ConclusionsThe original ability to incorporate epigallocatechin (EGC) into grapevine condensed tannins was lost independently in both the American and Eurasian/Asian branches of the Vitaceae, with exceptional cases of reversion to the ancestral EGC phenotype. This is particularly true in the genus Vitis, where we now find two radically distinct groups differing with respect to EGC content. While Vitis species from Asia are void of EGC, 50% of the New World Vitis harbour EGC. Interestingly, the presence of EGC is tightly coupled with the degree of leaf margin serration. Noticeably, the rare Asian EGC-forming species are phylogenetically close to Vitis vinifera, the only remnant representative of Vitis in Eurasia. Both the wild ancestral V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris as well as the domesticated V. vinifera subsp. sativa can accumulate EGC and activate galloylation biosynthesis that compete for photoassimilates and reductive power