Study on the Essential Oil of Aerial and Sub-Aerial Parts of Cymbopogon Flexuosus (Nees Ex Steud) Wats.

Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud) Wats commonly known as, East Indian lemongrass a widely grown essential oil plant in the world belongs to the family Poaceae and comprise of 140 species worldwide, found abundantly in tropics and sub-tropic regions of Asia, Africa and America. In India, 45 species are recorded of which the economic importance is C.winterianus, C.flexuosus, C.martinii, C.nardus, C.citratus, C.pendulus, C.jwarancusa and C.khasianus. Aerial and sub-aerial parts of C. flexuosus collected from Himavath Gopala hills, Karnataka, India, were subjected to hydrodistillation for extraction of essential oil. GC and GC-MS analysis were performed to know the chemical composition of the oil. Among the 39 compounds identified in aerial parts of the plant the major compounds were citral (64.98%), 1,7-octadien-3-ol (10.97%), dimethyl oxatricyclo nonanone (9.44%), nerol (2.85%), verbenol (1.77%) and caryophyllene oxide (0.71%). In sub-aerial parts of the plant 33 compounds were identified. The analysis of sub-aerial parts showed a different chemical profile compared to aerial part and possessed citral as the major compound of upto 30.47%. Other compounds in sub-aerial part are Eudesmol (17.82%), Elemol (14.16%), dihydro isopropyl methyl azulene (11.08%), .-cadinene (1.88%), junipene (1.36%), hydroxyalloaromadendrene, juniper camphor (1.12%) and elemene (1.04%)

Quantitative determination of secondary compounds in populations of Eryngium foetidum L. from India

Eryngium foetidum L. belongs to the family Apiaceae is known as, cilantro or spiny coriander. It is an arom. herb contg. 0.1-​0.95 % of essential oil. The herb is used as a substitute to coriander and contains iron, carotene, riboflavin, calcium, vitamins and a peculiar saponin. It is widely used as food flavoring and seasoning herb for variety of dishes. The present study aims at quant. anal. of total phenols, flavonoids, tannin and vitamin C content present in different ecotypes of E. foetidum collected from Andaman, Darjeeling and Karnataka. The investigations showed that a significant variation in secondary compds. from the three different regions collected. The phenolic content was high in Darjeeling sample whereas, Andaman sample showed high amt. of flavonoids and tannins. The sample from Karnataka was rich in vitamin C content. The study shows that variation in ecotypic condition has lead to the difference in percentage of secondary compd. synthesis

Evaluation of Polar and Non-Polar Fractions of Essential Oil from Cymbopogon Citratus (DC.) Stapf

The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus collected from Bangalore was fractionated into non-polar and polar fractions using silica column chromatography. The essential oil and the fractions were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The main constituents of the essential oil were citral [neral (30.4%) + geranial (41.8%)], ß- myrcene (8.8%) and geraniol (2.2%) along with traces of sesquiterpenes, aliphatic compounds and phenylpropanoids. GC analysis of the non-polar chromatographic fraction along with the ß-myrcene standard showed that the non-polar fraction is rich in ß-myrcene (=93.87%) and the polar fraction contained the oxygenated terpenes viz., citral (neral+geranial), geraniol, linalool, isocitral as major constituents

Evaluation of secondary compounds and in vitro propagation of Eryngium foetidum L. populations- an approach towards commercial utilization

The present study is focused on a rare, endemic, aromatic and medicinal plant Eryngium foetidum L, belonging to the family Apiaceae. E. foetidum (Culantro) is a biennial herb which is used extensively as a culinary and medicinal plant I n most tropical regions. It is of immense importance as spice plant cultivated in India, China, Vietnam, Australia and South East Asian countrie

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Grown in Three Locations in South India

Essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf grown in three different locations in South India were analyzed by GC and GC-​MS. The main constituents of the oils from Bangalore and Puttur were identified as β-​myrcene, neral, geranial and geraniol. The oil from Nadugani was found to contain the major constituents' neral, geranial, geraniol and geranyl acetate. The present study revealed the presence of six oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes which were hitherto not reported in the oil of C. citratus

Isolation and identification of endophytic fungi from Urginea indica, a medicinal plant from diverse regions of south India.

Endophytic fungi isolated from four different populations of Urginea indica are reported in the present report,. The plants were collected from 4 dif erent localities which includes Seethampundi (Tamil Nadu), Yediyur (Karnataka), Allepy (Kerala) and Udupi (Karnataka). It is an important medicinal plant found distributed in India, Africa and Mediterrean regions and widely used for the treatment of Edema, Dropsy, Gout, Rheumatic pain, in treating cancer and as cardiac stimulant. Plant portions viz, pseudostem, outer sheat, inner leaf sheath and root parts were inoculated on potato dextrose agar medium amended with chloromphenicol. The presence of 12 endophytic fungi belonging to Hyphomycetes and Coelomycetes were identified from U. indica by means of morphological and cultural features. Sterile forms were common to the host. A total of 6 fungal species viz. Acremonium, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium, Curvularia lunata, C. brachyspora, Penicillium species belonging to the class hypomycetes were identified. Collectotricum fulcatum, C.gleosporioides, Phoma spp, Lasidiploidea theobromae, Physilosticta belonging to the class coelomycetes and some sterile forms were recorded. The present study provided a clue that the existence of endophytic fungi in U. indica and it can be of great importance if further studies conducted on to elucidate their role in the host plant and for bio-prospecting

Morphological variations in populations of Urginea indica Kunth.Liliaceae.

An attempt has been made to enquire into the morphological variations which leads to evolutionary divergence of populations of Urginea indica Kunth. In particular, there were considerable morphological variations within the species. The thirty two cytotypes showed distinct morphological differences in shape, size and colour of bulb and leaf, the length of inflorescence and flower colour. The morphological complexity is accompanied by high degree of cytological variations. Preliminary measurements of reproductive, characters have shown that no noteworthy results may be obtained in this characters except pedicel length but the vegetative character deviated significantly. Flowering and blooming time varied that also played a role in isolation of these populations. These morphological differences have a genetic basis and would be worthy in recognizing them as a separate sub specific taxon

Ecotypic Variations in Indian Populations of Eryngium Foetidum L.

Aim: The ecotypic variations with respect to total phenolics, flavonoid, tannin and Vitamin-C content in three different populations of E. foetidum collected from Andaman, Darjeeling (West Bengal) and Hassan (Karnataka) have been studied. Methodology: The total phenolic and total tannin content was estimated by FC method against standard pyrogallol and gallic acid respectively. Vitamin C was extracted with 4% oxalic acid solution and estimated using 2, 4- dinitrophenyl hydrazine reagent alongside standard ascorbic acid. The total flavonoid content was determined by Aluminum chloride colorimetric method with standard Quercitin (1mg/ml). The values were expressed as mg/g equivalents of respective standards. Results: A significant difference (p= 0.05%) in the concentration of secondary metabolites among all the studied populations was observed. The total phenolic content was highest in the Darjeeling population, flavonoid and tannin content was maximum in Andaman population and Vitamin C content was predominantly high in the Karnataka population. Conclusion: The variations in phytochemical constituents could be attributed to the possible interaction of the plant populations with their geographical location and their subsequent adaptations to the same

Comparitive Study on Essential Oil in Natural and In vitro Regenerated Plants of Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash

In vitro studies with rhizome explants of Vetiveria zizanioides obtained through organogenetic pathway was focused on the difference in essential oil content with that of control plants. There was variation exhibited by In vitro regenerated plants in their morphological growth and were referred as “morphotypes”. Two types of morphotypes were identified as long and short based on differences in their height. Essential oil was extracted and analyzed by Gas chromatography. The two morphotypes showed varied essential oil content of 2.1% (long), 1.9% (short) with the control showing 1.8% and also the plants showed marked differences in percentage composition of essential oil with respect to important compounds like khusimol, valencene, vetiverol, vetivone, vetivenene, vetiselinol and nootketone. Further studies on the screening and selection of the chemotypes for high producing essential oil content and composition are under progress

Raphides in urginea indica kunth. Liliacea

Micromorphological traits play a significant role both in systematic and functional aspects of plant survival in response to environmental stimuli. Plant structural trait such as raphides play a vital role in protecting plants from herbivore attack, cause discomfort by physical and chemical irritation by dermal contact to soft tissue thus acts as defensive mechanism. These morphological characteristics may have evolved as response to other environmental stimuli. The presence of raphides (Calcium oxalate crystals) in the anther endothecium represents a rare character, reported in the present study which is of systematic significance. In the present study raphides are present in vegetative and reproductive parts of Urginea indica. The mild inflammation and irritation caused when the bulb is rubbed on the skin reveals that it takes part both in mechanical and chemical irritation when they come in contact with tender tissue and protect themselves against herbivore attack. Results indicate that raphide bundle size varies considerably within species. These suggest that, Raphides have some potential to be a useful taxonomic tool. Polarized microscope shows variation in the colouration of raphides