Forest trees of Odisha, India: An updated checklist

An exhaustive taxonomic inventory of forest trees of Odisha in the Eastern Ghats of India was made during 2015–2020, which revealed the presence of a total of 501 species of wild and naturalised trees belonging to 284 genera under 80 families. The family Euphorbiaceae was the most species-rich represented by 45 species, followed by Rubiaceae (28), Mimosaceae (27), Moraceae (26) and Meliaceae (23). The genus Ficus (Moraceae) had highest number of 21 tree species, followed by Diospyros (10 species), Syzygium (8 species), Albizia (8 species), Senegalia (7 species), Vitex (7 species) and Terminalia (6 species). Nothopodytes nimmoniana, Alphonsea madraspatana, Lasiococca comberi, Siphonodon celastrineus, Searsia paniculata, Syzygium schmidii, Cassipourea ceylanica, Prunus pygeoides, Sonneratia griffithii, Eriolaena hookeriana var. viridis, Dimorphocalyx glabellus, Garcinia xanthochymus and Litsea glutinosa have been identified as regionally threatened species needing conservation intervention. Cocculus laurifolius is reported here as a new distributional record for the state. Field observation on the occurrence and dominance of tree species in different forest types of Odisha has been discussed. A checklist of the tree species of Odisha is presented in this article, along with the correct botanical name, synonym(s), local name, flowering and fruiting time, locality of occurrence and citation of voucher herbarium specimens

ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF HALOPHILA OVALIS AND HALOPHILA BECCARII (HYDROCHARITACEAE): TWO IMPORTANT SEAGRASS SPECIES OF CHILIKA LAGOON, INDIA

Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid content and the antioxidant property of two important seagrass species namely, Halophila ovalis and Halophila beccarii occurring in Chilika lagoon, Odisha, India. Methods: Total Phenolic Content (TPC) of the extracts of Halophila species was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method with little modifications and the total flavonoid content (TFC) was measured by aluminum chloride colorimetric assay. The antioxidant activity of different extracts was investigated by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity. IC50 values were calculated for the DPPH and ABTS methods. Result: The study revealed that the methanol extract of H. ovalis has greater antioxidant activity than H. beccarii. Methanol extract of both the species (H. ovalis and H. beccarii) was found to possess high phenolic content at value of 70.25 mg GAE/g of extract and 48.53 mg GAE/g of extract respectively. Similarly flavonoid contents was found highest in methanol extract for both H. ovalis (76.82 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract) and H. beccarii (64.28 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract). The antioxidant activity of different extracts of these two species were evaluated using DPPH and ABTS radical assay. The methanol extract of both H. ovalis and H. beccarii showed high radical scavenging activity with IC50 values of 37.77 μg/ml and 52.25 μg/ml for DPPH and 25.62 μg/ml and 45.45 μg/ml for ABTS respectively. Conclusion: The study revealed the potential of the Halophila species as natural sources of antioxidants having considerable commercial importance

Quality control of marketed herbal products of Asparagus racemosus Willd. through high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis

Asparagus racemosus Willd. is a valuable medicinal plant which is used all over the world. There are several marketed products of A. racemosus. The high demand for this herb has increased the risk of adulteration in its commercial products. The adulterated herbal products might pose serious ill effects on health. Therefore, it is necessary to check the quality of marketed products in terms of the presence of their major bioactive compounds. The present study aimed to carry out the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Shatavarin IV in marketed products of A. racemosus through a validated high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method. Ten marketed products were analysed and all of them had shown the presence of Shatavarin IV which was quantified. The identification and quantification were done by taking a standard Shatavarin IV as reference. The Shatavarin IV was detected at Rf 0.4±0.05 and showed maximum absorption at 425 nm. The Shatavarin IV was quantified using a 6-point calibration curve having a standard deviation of 3.89 % with an R2 value of 0.9968. The amount of Shatavarin IV varied between 1.47±0.25 to 2.69±0.51 mg/g on a dry weight basis which is a normal range in the raw plant materials. Thus, the present findings would be a simple, reliable and cost-effective method for the quality determination of herbal products of A. racemosus. The developed HPTLC chromatograms would serve as a reference for the quality assessment of commercial products of A. racemosus in future

Gynochthodes cochinchinensis (DC.) Razafim. & B. Bremer (Morindeae: Rubioideae: Rubiaceae): an addition to the woody climbers of India

Gynochthodes cochinchinensis (Rubiaceae), a woody climber, is reported here as a new addition to Indian flora from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha. The species resembles its closely allied taxon Gynochthodes umbellata, but can be distinguished from it by a number of distinct morphological characters. A detailed description, notes on habitat, ecology and distribution are provided in this paper with color photographs for easy identification

GC-MS ANALYSIS OF RHIZOME ESSENTIAL OIL OF BOSENBERGIA LONGIFLORA (WALL) KUNTZE RICH IN LONGIPNOCARVONE, A SESQUITERPENOID

Objective: Bosenbergia longiflora (wall.) Kuntze is a rhizomatous plant of family Zingiberaceae which has been traditionally used for curing many diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, aphthous ulcer,antiinflamatory, healing of wound etc. The present work is aimed at phytochemical profiling, especially terpenoids, of rhizome essential oil of Bosenbergia longiflora (wall.) Kuntze using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.Methods: The essential oil from mature fresh rhizome was extracted by hydro distillation method by using Clevenger's apparatus. GC-MS analysis of essential oil was carried out to identify major volatile constituents.Results: The present work revealed that the oil was highly rich in longipinocarvone, a sesquiterpenoid, as major compound (81.69%). The oil also contained trans-caryophyllene (1.54%), β-Cis caryophyllene (3.41%), patchoulene (2.97%), borneol (2.32%), limolene (1.5%) etc. GC- MS detected 13 compounds out of which 12 compounds could be identified.Conclusion: GC-MS analysis of Bosenbergia longiflora revealed an abundance of longipinocarvone which may responsible for many activities it possesses. The percentage of longipinocarvone being higher in this plant, it could be explored for various pharmaceutical uses.Â

Neocinnamomum caudatum Essential Oil Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in RAW 264.7 Cells by Inhibiting NF-κB Activation and ROS Production

Neocinnamomum caudatum (Lauraceae) plant is used in the traditional system of medicine and is considered a potential source of edible fruits, spices, flavoring agents and biodiesel. The leaves, bark and roots of the species are used by local communities for the treatment of inflammatory responses, such as allergies, sinusitis and urinary tract infections. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the molecular mechanism through which this plant exerts its anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of the current research was to characterize the chemical constituents of bark (NCB) and leaf (NCL) essential oil of N. caudatum and to elucidate its anti-inflammatory action in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation were further subjected to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The major constituents in bark essential oil identified as β-pinene (13.11%), α-cadinol (11.18%) and α-pinene (10.99%), whereas leaf essential oil was found to be rich in β-pinene (45.21%), myrcene (9.97%) and α-pinene (9.27%). Treatment with NCB and NCL at a concentration of 25 µg/mL exerted significant anti-inflammatory activity by significantly reducing LPS-triggered nitric oxide (NO) production to 45.86% and 61.64%, respectively, compared to the LPS-treated group. In the LPS-treated group, the production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, decreased after treatment with essential oil, alleviating the mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. The essential oil also inhibited the production of intracellular ROS and attenuated the depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment with NCB also reduced nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)/p65 translocation and elevated the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes in LPS-induced macrophages. The present findings, for the first time, demonstrate the anti-inflammatory potential of both bark and leaf essential oils of N. caudatum. The bark essential oil exhibited a significantly more important anti-inflammatory effect than the leaf essential oil and could be used as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Integrating network pharmacology and experimental verification to decipher the multitarget pharmacological mechanism of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil in treating inflammation

Inflammatory diseases contribute to more than 50 % of global deaths. Research suggests that network pharmacology can reveal the biological mechanisms underlying inflammatory diseases and drug effects at the molecular level. The aim of the study was to clarify the biological mechanism of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil (CZEO) and predict molecular targets of CZEO against inflammation by employing network pharmacology and in vitro assays. First, the genes related to inflammation were identified from the Genecards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) databases. The CZEO targets were obtained from the SwissTargetPrediction and Similarity Ensemble Approach (SEA) database. A total of 1057 CZEO and 526 anti-inflammation targets were obtained. The core hub target of CZEO anti-inflammatory was obtained using the protein–protein interaction network. KEGG pathway analysis suggested CZEO to exert anti-inflammatory effect mainly through Tumor necrosis factor, Toll-like receptor and IL-17 signalling pathway. Molecular docking of active ingredients-core targets interactions was modelled using Pyrx software. Docking and simulation studies revealed benzyl benzoate to exhibit good binding affinity towards IL8 protein. MTT assay revealed CZEO to have non-cytotoxic effect on RAW 264.7 cells. CZEO also inhibited the production of NO, PGE2, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α and promoted the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, CZEO inhibited intracellular ROS generation, NF-kB nuclear translocation and modulated the expression of downstream genes involved in Toll-like receptor signalling pathway. The results deciphered the mechanism of CZEO in treating inflammation and provided a theoretical basis for its clinical application

Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of essential oil of <i>Hedychium greenii</i> and <i>Hedychium gracile</i> from India

<p>The chemical constituents of the essential oils hydrodistilled from rhizome parts of <i>Hedychium greenii</i> W.W. Sm. and <i>Hedychium gracile</i> Roxb, of family Zingiberaceae, growing in India, were analysed for the first time by GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. A total of 30 and 29 components representing 99.62 and 96.74% of the total oil were identified in the essential oils of <i>H. greenii</i> and <i>H. gracile</i>, respectively. The major components of <i>H. greenii</i> were bornyl acetate (31.32%), <i>α</i>-pinene (14.49%), camphene (12.81%) and limonene (10.55%), whereas <i>H. gracile</i> was dominated by <i>β</i>-pinene (25.24%), <i>γ</i>-terpinene (24.62%), terpinen-4-ol (14.87%) and 1,8-cineole (7.51%). Essential oils were assessed for antioxidant potential using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay. <i>H. greenii</i> oil exhibited stronger antioxidant potential as compared to <i>H. gracile</i> oil and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Thus, <i>H. greenii</i> rhizome oil has the potential to be used as an alternative source of antioxidant.</p