Species Specificity

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The genus Inula comprises more than one hundred species widespread in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Uses of this genus as herbal medicines have been first recorded by the Greek and Roman ancient physicians. In the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, from the 20 Inula spp. distributed in China, three are used as Traditional Chinese medicines, named Tumuxiang, Xuanfuhua and Jinfeicao. These medicines are used as expectorants, antitussives, diaphoretics, antiemetics, and bactericides. Moreover, Inula helenium L.

Leaf tissues of stone fruit trees (plum, apricot, peach and myrobalan) carrying symptoms of plum pox virus (PPV) infection and of peach GF 305 seedlings and Nicotiana benthamiana infected experimentally with PPV were assayed for PPV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The expected 243 bp PCR products were subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with restriction endonucleases AluI and RsaI. All of the PCR products contained the AluI site.

Thirty-seven plant organs, traditionally used as drugs, collected in Pakistan, were extracted with 70% acetone and analyzed for their total phenolics concentration and antioxidant potential. Seven extracts showed more than 85% inhibition of lipid peroxidation in vitro as compared with blank. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (IC50 = 233.6 microg/l +/- 28.3) was the strongest antioxidant in our test system. The IC50 results indicate that the extracts of Nymphaea lotus L. flowers, Acacia nilotica (Linn.) Delile beans, Terminalia belerica Roxb. fruits, and Terminalia chebula Retz.

Endophytic fungi represent an interesting group of microorganisms associated with the healthy tissues of terrestrial plants. They represent a large reservoir of genetic diversity. Fungal endophytes were isolated from the inner bark segments of ethnopharmaceutically important medicinal tree species, namely Terminalia arjuna, Crataeva magna, Azadirachta indica, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Terminalia chebula, and Butea monosperma (11 individual trees), growing in different regions of southern India. Forty-eight fungal species were recovered from 2200 bark segments.

Ethnobotanical knowledge is one of the precious cultural heritage parts of an area that involves the interaction between plants and people and foremost among these are the management of plant diversity by indigenous communities and the traditional use of medicinal plants. An ethnobotanical analysis was conducted in order to document the traditional medicinal uses of plants, particularly medicinally important folklore food phytonims of flora of Samahni valley, Azad Kashmir (Pakistan).

Self-incompatibility in the genus Prunus is controlled by two genes at the S-locus, S-RNase and SFB. Both genes exhibit the high polymorphism and high sequence diversity characteristic of plant self-incompatibility systems. Deduced polypeptide sequences of three myrobalan and three domestic plum S-RNases showed over 97% identity with S-RNases from other Prunus species, including almond, sweet cherry, Japanese apricot and Japanese plum. The second intron, which is generally highly polymorphic between alleles was also remarkably well conserved within these S-allele pairs.

Thirty-four polyphenolic substances in methanol extracts of the fruits of Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia horrida, three plants used in Egyptian folk medicine, were initially identified by HPLC-ESI-MS and quantitated by analytical HPLC after column chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. After purification by semi-preparative HPLC the compounds were identified by their mass and fragmentation patterns using ESI-MS-MS. For several compounds detailed 1H/13C NMR analysis at 600 MHz was performed.

Terminalia trees are being over-exploited because of their medicinal and economical importance leading to loss of valuable genetic resources. For sustainable utilization and conservation, assessment of genetic diversity therefore becomes imperative. We report a comprehensive first study on estimation and analysis of genetic variation through Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), inter simple sequence repeat polymorphism (ISSR) and random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) across three species of Terminalia.

Root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne species are major polyphagous pests of most crops worldwide, and cultivars with durable resistance are urgently needed because of nematicide bans. The Ma gene from the Myrobalan plum (Prunus cerasifera) confers complete-spectrum, heat-stable, and high-level resistance to RKN, which is remarkable in comparison with the Mi-1 gene from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), the sole RKN resistance gene cloned. We report here the positional cloning and the functional validation of the Ma locus present at the heterozygous state in the P.2175 accession.

To assess the efficacy and safety, essential (Cl, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Se, Zn), toxic (As, Br, Hg, Sb,) and other elements (Ba, Ce, Cs, Eu, Rb, Sc) were determined in Emblica officinalis (EO), Terminalia belerica (TB) and Terminalia chebula (TC) using instrumental neutron activation analysis. These herbs contain K as a major element, while Co, Cr and Na in EO, Fe, K and Mn in TB and Cl and Zn in TC are the highest.