Coronarin K and L: Two Novel Labdane Diterpenes From Roscoea purpurea: An Ayurvedic Crude Drug

The main objective of cancer treatment with chemotherapy is to kill the cancerous cells without affecting the healthy normal cells. In the present study, bioactivity-guided purification of the n-chloroform soluble fraction from the methanol extract of Roscoea purpurea resulted in the identification of two new labdane diterpenes: coronarin K (1) and coronarin L (2), along with eight known compounds, coronarin A (3), bisdemethoxycurcumin (4), kaempferol 3-O-methyl ether (5), kaempferol (6), fenozan acid (7), 3-(3-methoxy,4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-propenoic acid ferulic acid (8), caffeic acid (9), and gallic acid (10). The structural identification of new compounds (1 and 2) were determined by detailed analysis of 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D NMR (COSY, HSQC, and HMBC) spectroscopic data. The relative configurations of 1 and 2 were determined with the help of NOESY correlations and comparison of optical rotations with known labdane diterpenes, with established stereochemistry, while structure of known compounds was established by direct comparison of their NMR data with those reported in the literature. This is the first report of isolation of this labdane diterpenes and phenolic classes of secondary metabolites in R. purpurea. In the preliminary screening, the methanol extract and its fractions were tested for the cytotoxic activity against a panel of four cancer cell lines (A549, HCT-116, Bxpc-3, and MCF-7); extract and its chloroform fraction were found to be active against the lung cancer cell line, A-549, with IC50 value <25 μg/ml. Owing to the notable cytotoxic activity of the chloroform fraction, the compounds (1–5) were screened for their cytotoxicity against all the cell lines by MTT assay. Coronarin K, 1 showed significant cytotoxic potential against lung cancer cell lines (A-549), with IC50 value of 13.49 μM, while other compounds did not show activity below 22 μM

) Ghildiyal, et al, Mycorrhizal seedlings of Pinus roxburghii

Abstract: The variation in growth of mycorrhizal seedlings of different provenances of Pinus roxburghii in terms of morphological and physiological characteristics have been observed under nursery conditions. Significant variation in growth characters i.e., shoot length, collar diameter, number of needles and root-shoot dry weight etc. were noticed through which Kalimath provenance was considered to be the best in respect to the growth in height (14.7 cm after six months and 43.7 cm after twelve months) and biomass production (2.15 gm seedlings -1 after six months; and 4.85 gm seedlings -1 after twelve months) respectively. Whereas Mayali provenance has yielded minimum values for these indices simultaneously

Histo-Anatomical characterization of aerial and root crude samples of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

292-299In the herbal drug industry, raw herbal drug samples of several important plant species are often reported interchangeably used with other drug samples. Correct identification for the use of genuine species in herbal preparation is essential to ensure the safety and quality of herbal medicines. Developments of standard botanical monographs are known to help in the easy, cost-effective and authentic identification of raw herbal samples of genuine species. The present study involved the botanical characterization of plant material (leaf, fruit, stem, and root) of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. The study of macroscopic and microscopic characters using a stereomicroscope and compound microscope was observed with unique qualitative and quantitative features including characteristic C- shaped vascular bundle arrangement (in leaf); solitary, linear, and grouped xylem vessels in root anatomy; and multi-cellular branched trichomes (in stem, leaf and fruit); the presence of starch in root powder, and prismatic crystals in root and fruit powder as characteristic features. Also, the size of various cells and tissue zones were also provided for studied plant samples. Detailed botanical characters compiled in the present study can be used as a reference standard by herbal drug industries to check the adulteration of W. somnifera by correct identification of raw herbal samples in intact or fragmented form

Traditional herbal medicines used for the treatment of skin disorders by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Gujjar</i> tribe of Sub-Himalayan tract, Uttarakhand

736-746In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to explore the traditional knowledge on herbal medicines used as a remedy for skin disorders by the Gujjar tribe of Sub-Himalayan tract, Uttarakhand. The purpose of this study is to assess traditional knowledge on medicinal plants which forms a baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical studies, to identify the important species used for skin medicine, finding out methods for various preparations, and calculate the % informants in relation to medicinal plant use. In this study frequent field trips were made for the collection of plant specimens and information on medicinal aspects from traditional healers and women folk through questionnaire and interviews. <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-GB">The knowledge of herbal preparation, parts used, mode of administration and local name was also taken during the study period. The present study has resulted in the documentation of 109 medicinal plant species belonging to 57 families and 102 genera used by the Gujjars for treatment of different skin ailments, viz. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">allergy, blisters, boils, chilblain, cracked feet, cuts, eczema, leprosy, leucoderma, ringworms, sore and wounds. The findings of present study shows documentation of 22 plant species which are found little known or less reported in available published literature. The Gujjar tribe lives interiorly in the forest localities and Government is making policies to rehabilitate them outside of forest areas, it is necessary to tap their rich heritable traditional knowledge on medicinal plants within time before it become vanished due to modernization. A comprehensive detailed search and report on the pattern of utilization of medicinal plants by this tribe has not evidenced in the earlier publications. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Therefore, present attempt has been made to document traditional knowledge of Gujjar tribe used to treat different skin disorders by making various herbal preparations. </span

Seed oil content variation in Jatropha curcas Linn. in different altitudinal ranges and site conditions in

Abstract The present study was conducted to determine the variation in yield and oil content by taking composite sample of six Jatropha trees selected randomly from two cultural site conditions viz. arable (T1), non-arable (T2) and three altitudinal ranges E1 (400-600m) ), E2 (600-800m) and E3 (800-1000 m) in Himachal Pradesh. The oil was extracted from the dried seed using steam distillation method of oil extraction. The highest oil was recovered in T2 E2 (non-arable site with low altitude) various morphological and yield attribute like number of fruits/branches, number of fruits/tree, number of seeds/tree were also studied. Arable site with high altitude (T1E3) recorded the highest value for these parameters

HPLC-PDA Method for Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Crude Extract and Fractions of <i>Aucklandia costus</i> Falc. and Cytotoxicity Studies against Cancer Cells

Aucklandia costus Falc. (Synonym: Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch.) is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae. The dried rhizome is an essential herb in the traditional systems of medicine in India, China and Tibet. The important pharmacological activities reported for Aucklandia costus are anticancer, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-fatigue activities. The objective of this study was the isolation and quantification of four marker compounds in the crude extract and different fractions of A. costus and the evaluation of the anticancer activity of the crude extract and its different fractions. The four marker compounds isolated from A. costus include dehydrocostus lactone, costunolide, syringin and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde. These four compounds were used as standard compounds for quantification. The chromatographic data showed good resolution and excellent linearity (r2 ˃ 0.993). The validation parameters, such as inter- and intraday precision (RSD n-butanol fraction is a rich source of syringin (37.91 µg/mg) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (7.94 µg/mg). Further, the SRB assay was performed for the evaluation of anticancer activity using lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer cell lines. The hexane and chloroform fractions show excellent IC50 values of 3.37 ± 0.14 and 7.527 ± 0.18 µg/mL, respectively, against the prostate cancer cell line (PC-3)