eChapters

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

India’s exports of Processed Food was Rs. 31563.43 Crores in 2014-15, which includes products like Mango pulp (Rs. 841.39 Crores), Dried and Preserved vegetable (Rs. 847.11 Crores), Other Processed Fruit and Vegetable (Rs. 2,569.93 Crores), Pulses (Rs. 1,209.51 Crores), Groundnuts (Rs. 4,675.35 Crores), Guargum (Rs. 9,480.00 Crores), Jaggery and Confectionary (Rs. 1,161.81 Crores), Cocoa Products (Rs. 848.62 Crores), Cereal Preparations (Rs. 3,038.79 Crores), Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (Rs. 2,231.58 Crores) and Miscellaneous Preparations (Rs. 2,437.77 Crores).

1. GENERAL INFORMATION!

Major constraint of medicinal plants: Lack of genuine planting material.

Maximum number of medicinal plants belong to family Asteraceae.

Maximum demand in world market: 1. Senna leaves 2. Isabgol seeds 3. Cassia tora seeds.

India is largest producer of 1. Kewada oil 2. Senna 3. Davana oil 4. Isabgol.

India is 2^nd largest producer of 1. Opium latex 2. Jasmine concrete 3. Tuberose concrete

India is 3^rd largest exporter of periwinkle.

Thailand is largest exporter of sarpagandha leaves.

China is largest producer of 1. Geranium oil 2. Citronella oil.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Asian continent, particularly India is known as “Land of Spices”.

Spice crops are largely grown in tropics between 20⁰N and 20⁰S.

Term ‘spice’ was derived from Latin ‘Species aromatacea’ means ‘Fruits of the earth’.

Spices and condiments are grouped under food adjuncts.

India is largest producer of spices and oleoresin.

Home of spices/ Spice bowl of India: Kerala.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

International Group for the Genetic Improvement of Cocoa (INGENIC) formed in 1993.

Central Coconut Research Station (presently CPCRI) was established in 1940.

Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasargod, Kerala established in 1970.

CPCRI hosts International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia under the umbrella of Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) of the Biodiversity International.

National Active Germplasm Site for coconut: CPCRI.

United Planter’s Association of Southern India (UPASI) started in 1893.

Branch of International Rubber Association was established in 1948 at Kottayam, Kerala. It was renamed as Indian Rubber Institute in 1987.

Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam established in 1995.

1. GENERAL FLORICULTURE

Development of Floriculture’ was recommended by Dr. P.P. Trivedi committee.

India ranks 2^nd in flower cultivation next to China.

The production of loose flowers almost tripled between the 8^th Plan and the 11^th Plan.

The annual domestic demand is valued at around 60 billion USD.

About 2,33,000 hectares across the country was used for floriculture, producing 17,29,000 metric tonnes (MT) of loose flowers and 76,732 lakh cut flowers.

India has exported 22,947.23 MT of floriculture products to the world for worth of Rs. 460.75 crores in 2014-15.

The share of exports of dried flowers and plant parts are 45%, flowering plants (22%), fresh foliage (13%), fresh cut flowers (10%), live plants (7%) and bulbs and tubers (3%).

India’s share in global floriculture trade- 0.6%.

1. General Olericulture

Olericulture is Latin term ‘Olerus’ meaning herb.

China, India, USA, Turkey and Italy: Major vegetable producers.

Indian subcontinent has 80 species of major and minor vegetables apart from several wild species consumed as vegetable.

About 175 different types of vegetables are grown in India, includes 82 leafy vegetables and 41 root (tuber and bulb) crops.

Cucurbits, taros, yams, brinjal and okra have rich diversity in Indian gene centre.

USA is leading importer of cucumber and gherkins, assorted canned vegetables and other dehydrated vegetables from India.

Germany leads in import of preserved onion, green pepper in brine and dehydrated onion flakes/powder.

Singapore leads in import of dried asparagus; Japan in dehydrated garlic flakes; UAE in dehydrated garlic powder; Bangladesh in peas and Switzerland in dried mushrooms including morels.

Mizoram is the largest producer of chow chow.

1. GENERAL POMOLOGY

Word pomology: Derived from Greek word ‘pome’ meaning development of fruit from inferior ovary and ‘logos’ meaning to study.

Father of systematic pomology: De Candolle.

Temperate fruits are popularly known in India as hill fruits or cold region fruits.

India ranks 1^st in productivity of grapes, banana and papaya.

Ratio of Chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b is highest in C⁴ plants.

Gibberellic acid is enhanced by exposing plants to red light.

The life line tree of ‘Thar Desert’ is Prosopis cineraria.

Grape of the desert is Salvadora oleoides.

Horticulture word derived from Latin word: Hortus meaning ‘Garden’ and cultura means ‘cultivation’.

Father of horticulture: Thomas Andrew Knight, John Lindley, Liberty Hyde Bailey.

1^st artificial hybridization in fruit crop in world: T. A. Knight.

Father of vegetables: L. H. Bailey.

1^st book in horticulture: Fruit growing in India: W.B. Hayes (1945) & related to litchi.

Export growth of fresh fruits and vegetables in term of value is 14% and of processed fruits and vegetables is 16.27%.

Contribution of horticulture sector to agriculture GDP (2013-14): 29%.

India is largest producer of Coconut, Cashew, Tea and Spices.

The increasing awareness of the deleterious effects of indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture has led to the adoption of organic farming as an alternative method for conventional farming world-wide. It is gaining gradual momentum across the world and the growing awareness of organic food which is emerging as an attractive source of rural income generation especially in integrated farming systems.

In north west India where rice-wheat, cotton-wheat and pearl millet-wheat cropping systems are most prevalent. But now, these cropping systems are not proving farmers’ friendly due to higher water requirement, declining yield, susceptibility to insects and pests and adverse effect on soil health. Moreover, in the new millennium with the growing demand of agricultural commodities in national as well as international market due to ever increasing population and globalization, Indian farmers are forced to produce higher quantum of quality agricultural commodities at low cost from shrinking land and natural resources.

Mungbean - wheat cropping system requires less water and hence, can be grown in areas where water availability is limited in addition to beneficial effect of mungbean to supply N to the succeeding wheat crop which are favorable for organic farming. Wheat (desi) also known as tall wheat requires less water and is very responsive to low doses of nutrients. The dwarf wheat grown by farmers with the application of chemicals in the form of fertilizers, weedicides, insecticides and pesticides is not preferred by people and therefore, the demand of organic wheat is rising fast in national and international market. This cropping system can be taken successfully in farming systems for higher monetary returns.

There is need to shift a portion of cultivable land with organic farming as an alternate practice technique. Organic farming gives emphasis on sustainability, environmental safety and low cost production techniques over chemical farming. Keeping the issues of 21^st century agriculture in view following aspects also shows importance of organic farming: Reduce the toxic load; keep chemicals out of the air, water, soil and our bodies; reduce if not eliminate off farm pollution; protect future generations; build healthy soil; taste better and truer flavor; assist farmers of all sizes; promote biodiversity; celebrate the culture of agriculture etc.

Agriculture has under gone drastic changes from the mid 1960s through the introduction and application of various newly developed techniques in agro science such as crop and water management practices, Emphasis has been given to be integrated system approach in crop production.

It is essential to plan and implement rational policies to minimize the regional imbalances of agricultural production. The present growth in crop production has to be sustained considering ecological and economic factors. The existing as well as emerging frontiers must be examined to enhance agricultural growth on a sustainable basis. The understanding of agroclimatic relationship through crop weather conditions, soil fertility, water use efficiency, rain water management and appropriate cropping patterns based on regional resources potential must be emphasized more over agro forestry, integrated crop management, biotechnology and use of renewable energy must be emphasized for use in environmentally harmonious agriculture. Training of farmers has to be adapted to be changing technological environment.

The forest affects soil and water in many ways. Leaves and branches decreases wind strength, alter the absorption of solar radiation, and increase the surface area for evaporation. The root growth and the decomposition of plant organic matter by soil fauna and microbes, modify soil texture and structure, affecting water penetration and drainage. Changes in vegetation cover can therefore have a significance influence on the hydrological cycle and climate system.

The study area consists of the state of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. On the basis of physiographic and soil resources, this zone is clearly divisible into two sub zones; the plains of Punjab and Haryana and the highlands. Based on altitude soil type, geology, and rainfall each of these two sub zones may be further subdivided. Major sources of water in the region, in addition to rainfall and river, are lakes and ice crops of glaciers and undergrounds springs. Under ground water is largely concentrated in the plains of Punjab and Haryana. The region covers a varied land use, from highly intensive monocultures through rotational and intercropping to grazed rangeland and near natural forests.

Pre-dominant farming systems in various regions of India

The quick survey conducted as a part of characterization of existing farming systems throughout the country indicates existence of 19 pre-dominant farming systems with majority as crop + livestock (85%). Although crop + livestock system is dominating in the country, based on the per cent contribution to net income, the systems are classified as crop, horticulture, livestock, fisheries dominant systems where in dominant component contributes more than 50% of the total net returns. Accordingly, it was found that crop dominant farming systems are existing in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, NorthEast, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal while livestock dominant systems are present in Rajasthan and Parts of Gujarat. West Bengal, parts of Odisha and Assam states have the fisheries as a major source of income to the existing farming systems. The scope for promotion of horticulture (fruit) based systems exists in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, parts of Uttar Pradesh and in Sikkim while plantation dominant systems are available in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kerala. In selected states and locations, highly diversified systems also exists where in none of the component contributes for 50% or more to the returns. The characterization survey data of existing farming systems in different states/zones are being interpreted and brought out in the form of National Atlas on Farming Systems. Though the various farming systems exists in the country, integration of input and output within the system is either completely lacking or at partial integration. Competition exists within and outside the farm for various byproducts generated. Cow dung is the best example as dung is required for improving the fertility of soil and meeting the household fuel. Hence, synergy needs to be made by appropriate allocation for making farming as a profitable option. Sustainable farming systems should aim for long term productivity, profitability, recycling of resources and employment generation. The monetary returns under different farming systems practiced in different parts of the country are given in Fig 1. Among the various existing systems in the country, coconut +banana+ cocoa +pineapple + nutmeg (FS9) gives the higher return of Rs 1.27 lakhs/annum.

Resource use efficiency in Indian agriculture

Resource use efficiency in agriculture is defined to include the concepts of technical efficiency, allocative efficiency and environmental efficiency. Public investment, subsidies and credit for agriculture are used in an efficient manner. There are large scale inter regional as well as inter farm variations in factor productivity due to varying influence of different factors in different regions. A number of management factors such as timeliness and method of sowing, transplanting, irrigation and application of right doses of inputs and input mix play an important role in influencing inter-farm variation in crop productivity. Growing marginalization and fragmentation of land holdings coupled with rising incidence of informal tenancies and poor rural infrastructure such as road, electricity, markets and education affect factor productivity. The availability of good quality irrigation water coupled with flexibility of irrigation and drainage system and appropriate methods of application as well as pricing of irrigation water is crucial for sustainable use of land and water resources.

The stochastic frontier production function to analyse the resource use efficiency of urban farmers in Uyo, Southeastern Nigeria was done. The result shows that 65% of urban farmers were 70% technology efficient; maximum efficiency is 0.91, while minimum efficiency in urban farm is 0.43.

The classification of the farming systems of developing regions may be based on the following criteria:

• Available natural resource base, including water, land, grazing areas and forest; climate, of which altitude is one important determinant; landscape, including slope; farm size, tenure and organization; and
• Dominant pattern of farm activities and household livelihoods, including field crops, livestock, trees, aquaculture, hunting and gathering, processing and off-farm activities; and taking into account the main technologies used, which determine the intensity of production and integration of crops, livestock and other activities.

Integration of Enterprises

In agriculture, crop husbandry is the main activity. The income obtained from cropping is hardily sufficient to sustain the farm family throughout year. Activities such as dairying, poultry, fish- culture, sericulture, biogas production, edible mushroom cultivation, agro- forestry, agri- horticulture etc. assume critical importance in supplementing their farm income. Assumed regular cash flow is possible when cropping is combined with other enterprises. Judicious combination of enterprises keeping in view of the environment condition of a locality will pay grater dividends. At the same time it will promote effective recycling of residues/ wastes.

Integrated farming system seems to be the answer to the problems of increasing food production. For increasing income and for improving nutrition of the small scale farmers with limited resources without any adverse effect on environment and agro- eco-system. In a cropping system the amount of by products can be as high as or higher than marketable produce. This may go to waste if not utilized in an animal waste component and to reduce the cost of production of the economic produce of component two and finally to entrance the net income of the farm is whole.

Livestock is the best complementary enterprises with cropping, especially during the adverse years. Installation of a biogas plant in crop- livestock system will make use of the wastes, at the same time provides valuable manure and gas for cooking and lighting.

What is a system?

A group of interacting components, operating together for a common purpose, capable of reacting as a whole to external stimuli is called a system. It is not affected directly by its own outputs, having a specified boundary based on inclusion of all significant feedbacks. Human body is a system with a boundary (e.g., the skin) enclosing a number of components (heart, lungs) that interact (the heart pumps blood to the lungs) for a common purpose (to maintain and operate the living body). Collection of unrelated items does not constitute a system. A bag of pebbles is not a system because with addition or removal of a pebble, a bag of pebbles remains and is almost not affected completely by that change. Pebbles behave as a whole if the whole bag is influenced, for example by dropping it; the constituent parts go their own ways with its bursting. It is the property of the system that mainly matters and it may be summarized in the phrase ‘behaviour as a whole in response to stimuli to any portion’.

Low External Input Agriculture (LEIA)

It is a form of agriculture wherein the use of external inputs including chemical inputs is minimized and production is kept sustainable. It uses synthetic fertilizers or chemical pesticides below rates commonly recommended by the Extension workers. There is no elimination of these materials. Any system that reduces purchased chemical inputs can be called low-input farming. Yields are maintained through greater emphasis on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, biofertilizers, IPM, IWM and utilization of on-farm resources and management. Locally available resources are used by maximizing the complementary and synergistic effects of different components of the farming systems. There is use of external inputs in a complementary way. Main advantages of this type of agriculture are:

Conservation agriculture (CA) defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till) and permanent soil cover (mulch) combined with rotations is a recent agricultural management system that is gaining popularity in many parts of the world. Cultivation is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as “the tilling of land”, “the raising of a crop by tillage” or “to loosen or break up soil”. Other terms used in this dictionary include “improvement or increase in (soil) fertility”. All these definitions indicate that cultivation is synonymous with tillage or ploughing.

The other important definition that has been debated and defined in many papers is the word “sustainable”. The Oxford dictionary defines this term as “capable of being borne or endured, upheld, defended, maintainable”. Something that is sustained is “kept up without intermission or flagging, maintained over a long period”. This is an important concept in today’s agriculture since the human race will not want to compromise the ability of its future offspring to produce their food needs by damaging the natural resources used to feed the population today.

Agriculture has been the base of subsistence for human settlements on the planet earth. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), people in the developing world where the population increase is very rapid, may face hunger if the global food production does not increase by 50–60%. Contribution from developing countries and developed countries to world production in 1975 was about 38% and 62%, respectively. If yield increase is keeping pace with increasing population, mass hunger can escape. In the preindependence period, Indian agriculture was usually described as a gamble with monsoons and their failures resulted in widespread famine and misery. In the last few decades, Indian agriculture has made a remarkable progress even with increased population and decreased per capita availability of agricultural land. World population is projected to be over 8 billion by 2025 and nearly 10.5 billion by the end of next century. To maintain the status quo, food production needs to be doubled. Estimates by the FAO and WHO (1992) and the Hunger Project (1991) suggest that around 1 billion people in the world have diets that are ‘too poor to abstain the energy required for healthy growth of children and minimal activity of adults’. The causes are complex and it is not entirely the fault of overall availability of food. Modern agriculture begins on the research farm, where researchers have access to all types of inputs for crops at all the appropriate times. But, even the best performing farms cannot match the yields of researchers. For high productivity, farmers need to have access to the whole package – improved seeds, water, labour, capital or credit, fertilizers, pesticides and other developed technology. Many poorer farming households simply cannot adopt the whole package. Very often delivery systems are unable to supply them on time.

The basic points that are to be considered while choosing appropriate enterprise in IFS are:

1. Soil and climatic features of an area/locality.
2. Social status of the family and social customs prevailing in the locality.
3. Economic condition of the farmer (Return/income from the existing farming system).
4. Resource availability at farm and present level of utilization of resources.
5. Economics of proposed IFS and credit facilities.
6. Farmer’s managerial skill.
7. Household demand.
8. Institutional infrastructure and technological knowhow.
9. Market facilities.

Terms associated with cropping and farming systems are:

1. Cropping system: is an important component of a farming system. It represents cropping pattern used on a farm and their interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology which determine their makeup.
2. Cropping pattern: means the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time in a unit area. It indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow in an area.
3. Cropping scheme is a plan according to which crops are grown on individual plot of a farm during a given period of time with the object of obtaining maximum return from each crop without impairing soil fertility. Thus a cropping scheme is related to the most profitable use of resources, land, labour, capital, and management.
4. Multiple cropping: Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year is known as multiple cropping. It is intensification of cropping in space and time dimensions. It includes intercropping, mixed cropping and sequence cropping.
5. Quadruple cropping: Growing of four crops in a year in sequence.
6. Competition effect: Competition of intercropped spp. For light, nutrients, water, carbon dioxide, and other growth factors.
7. Complementary effect: Effect of one component on another which enhances growth and productivity.

Various components of farming systems are as under

1. Cropping system

A system is set of elements which depend on each other and interacting among themselves. Farming system consists of several enterprises like cropping system, dairying, piggery, poultry, fishery, bee keeping, etc. These enterprises are interrelated. The end products and wastes of one enterprise are used as inputs in other. The wastes of cow, dung used as FYM in crop production and straw is used as feeding material for cow. Bullock is used for field preparation.

Cropping system is an important component of a farming system. It represents cropping pattern used on a farm and their interaction with farm resources, other farm enterprises and available technology which determine their makeup.

Cropping pattern: means the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time in a unit area. It indicates the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow in an area. It indicates the early sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow in an area. Crop sequence and crop rotation are generally used synonymously. Crop rotation refers to recurrent succession of crops on the same piece of land either in a year or over a longer period of time. Component crops are so chosen so that soil health in not impaired.

The prosperity of any country depends upon the prosperity of its people. Food, clothing, shelter, health, education, security, roads, electricity and drinking water are the today’s basic needs. Farmers produce food. About 70 % of Indian population is engaged in farming. Therefore, prosperity of India would depend upon the prosperity of its farmers. This in turn depends upon the adoption of improved technology and judicious allocation of resources (land, labour, capital, machinery etc). Human race depends more on farm products for their existence than anything else since food and clothing – the prime necessaries are products of farming. Even for industrial prosperity, farming forms the basic raw material. To sustain and satisfy as many as his needs, the farmers include crop production, livestock, poultry, fisheries, beekeeping etc. in their farms. Earlier subsistence was the important objective of farming. Farmers took many activities such as planting of fruit trees in their farms or on the common lands just for the welfare of mankind without expecting anything in return. The kind of farming where subsistence and welfare of mankind were the main objectives is designated as mixed farming. Farming today is also a mix of enterprises. However, higher profitability without altering ecological balance is important in farming. A set of agricultural activities organized while preserving land productivity, environmental quality and maintaining desirable level of biological diversity and ecological stability is designated as “Farming System”. Here the emphasis is mainly on a system rather than on gross output.

In other words “farming system” is a resource management strategy to achieve economic and sustain agricultural production to meet diverse requirement of the farm household while preserving the resource base and maintaining high environmental quality. The farming system in its real sense will help to lift the economy of agriculture and standard of living of the farmers.

In India many medicinal plants traditionally used by tribal and other sources have been recorded by different authors, workers and researchers. Many plants that can cause symptomatic relief for various ailments have also been established. Attempts have been made by different scientists to ascertain the active principles behind the herbal cure of certain diseases. Ayurvedic preparations from plant sources have been developed in our country to certain extent. Many Homeopathic medicines have also been procured from plants and herbs. Scientific conferences in State, National and International levels are being held on Traditional Asian Medicines to ascertain the scientific truth behind them. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar and many other Institutes of our country are doing creditable work to isolate the composition of medicinal plants. Many useful compounds have been isolated from different medicinal flora and their efficiency has been established scientifically. Good numbers of Allopathic medicines prepared on the basis of herbal cures are flooding in the market in different trade marks. Still the country is to find preventive and curative medicines for Cancer, AIDS, Thalsamia and other such deadly diseases. Recent International Conference on Cancer held at New Delhi came out with a suggestion that certain flora could be explored for the possibility of treating cancer without side effects. When we are starting to realize the importance of flora for a healthy living and scientists are in search of drugs from the vegetation to irradicate diseases deforestation is reampant in our country. Our environment has been contaminated due to various types of pollutants from industries and other anthropogenic sources. At this juncture man has to maintain a balance to achieve harmony of both the factors for our better living. The tribal dweller who is considered as the ‘Maa in the forest’ has to be recognized first so far his knowledge in medicinal plants is concerned. After ascertaining the utility of medicinal plants they are to be protected, propagated both by Government and Public. Scientific experiments are to be carried out to establish the active principles behind the herbal drugs. Herbal gardens are to be instituted at different places by adopting modern biotechnological methods. There is a need to make joint efforts by the workers from the fields of Allopathic, Ayurved and Homeopathic, as a step towards “the irradication of diseases”. Such an inter-disciplinary work on medicinal plants may throw a new light for achieving success, in finding out medicines without side effect. In this context, Pharmacologists have to play a vital role while preparing the doses of drugs from plant sources.

In Comparison to Literature : A Comparative Account

Medicinal plants constitute a group of industrially important crops which are of great value for domestic use and for export. Plant-best drugs are being increasingly preferred in medical science. The use of various parts of several drug plants to cure specific ailments has been in vogue from ancient times on our indigenous medicine.

We are fortunate to have rich heritage in the form of information available from tribal areas gathered by the tribals through experience of generation in the form of folklore medicine. It is however unfortunate that full potential of these crops has not been scientifically explored. As compared to agricultural crops on which researches have been done for getting better varieties for high yields diseases resistance and better quality comparatively, little work has been done on the medicinal plants. The Ethnomedicinal plants are enumerated in subsequent pages and in Table 1 with their local name and families.

Cloud with dense forest and valleys the present Kalahandi district, Orissa comprises of ex–state of kalahandi and exzamindari of khariar minus Kasipur. The present district of Kalahandi district of Orissa state was a part of south Kasipur Kingdom. It continued as a princely state up to Nov. 1949 and then merged with orissa state the district Kalahandi was created out of exprinciply state of Kalahandi with addition of ex-zamindari areas of Khariar which formerly a part of Sambalpur district. Again Nuapada and Nawarangapur area separated from it and the present form of the district exist.

The modern Kalahandi district occupies the south western part of Orissa and is situated between 19 degree 10’ North Latitude and between 82 degree 30’ and 83 degree 50’ longitude. To the northern side of Kalahandi district Balangir, to south eastern side Rayagada district is situated. To south westen side Nawarangpur district, to the Southern side Koraput district and to north Nuapara district and western side Chhatisgarh are situated. The Kalahandi district extends over an area of 7920 sq. kms, which is 5.09% of total geographical area of Orissa and occupies 7th position in area of the state of Orissa. According to 2001 census, total population of the district is 13, 34,772 which has 3.64% of the whole state and density of population is 168 per sq. k.m. In the district, 2 subdivisions, 4 revenue Tahasils, 13 blocks, and 195 Gram Panchayats and 2205 villages are existing.

Orissa is a land of tribes and one of India’s most important forests state providing home to a very large forest dependant tribal population. Represented by 22.5% of the total population of the states of tribes of orissa, which are scheduled as 62 different ethnic groups (Biswal et al., 1997). The orissan ethnographic scenario includes as many as 62 scheduled Tribes are enlisted in the presidential orders numbering 5,915,067 persons in 1981 census constituting 22.43% of the total population of the state (26,370 and 21). Distribution of tribal population in the district during 1981 census was uneven. Their number was more in inland districts like koraput, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Phulbani and Kalahandi than in the coastal plain consisting of Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Ganjam (Mohanty and Chowdhury, 1990). Different tribes exists in orissa are namely divided into three groups on ethnolinguistic basic (i) Austro-Asiatic (ii) Dravidian and (iii) Indo-Aryan (Behura, 1993). The important communities are Saora, Bathudi, Bhumija, Bhuiyan, Saunti, Gond, Kharia, Kandha, Kisan, Kolha, Munda, Oraon, Paraja, Santal, Saora and Shabar (Behura, 1993). From different district of Orissa different ethno botanist worked on geographical basis or on a particular tribe, on a particular plant, food habit, and religious occasion, social customs etc. district wise enumeration is given below.

Jain, (1971) studied magico-religious beliefs pertained to plants prevalent among different tribals of the state. Rai chaudhuri et al., (1975) reported ethno botanical uses of 38 species from the state 81 plant species used by the rural folk for antifertility, as medicine, fibre and food were reported by (Saxsena and Dutta, 1975). Saxsena et al., (1981) gave an account of ethnobotany of 83 plant species.

India is a varitable emporium of herbs. The medicinal use of plants was known to the inhabitants of India from time immemorial. As per Indian Materia Medica, a large number of vegetables, different parts and products of flora and fauna came into use for the treatment of diseases by ancient Hindus. Generally the practitioners, of various Indian system of medicines used to utilise the flora and fauna found in their environment and accept those which were found useful after trial.Ayurved comes from Atharvaveda. There are hundred fourteen hymns which describe some diseases and medicinal practices. This was the era around 2000 B.C. The books written on Ayurved were rewritten by ‘Charak’. It is known s ‘Charak Sanhinta’. They were written in eight volumes having hundred twenty chapters in Sanskrit Sushrut wrote in similar way under the name of ‘Sushrut Sanhita’ having ten thousand verses in six-volumes under one hundred eighty six chapters. He described ‘Surgery’. Kashyap wrote on ‘Paediatrics’ and Vatsayana wrote on ‘Sexology’. Hence, very rich and old heritage of Ayurved is prescribed and documented in Hindu Vedas. This was the age when art of ‘Pharmacy’ was introduced. There after came the ‘Creative age’, when the active principles of medicinal drugs were adopted. According to Charak, in the Chapter ‘Kalpasophan’, the drugs differ with respect to land, season, source, flavour, taste, potency, post digestive effects and specification and also with respect to their body, morbid tendency, constitution, age, vitality, gastric fire, proclivities, homologation and stage of diseases.Accepting those ideas in 1864 with the help of the then king of ‘Jamnagar’ the famous Baidya, Jandu started a small factory (Rasasala) in Jamnagar. Then in 1910 Jandu Pharmaceutical works was established in Bombay to manufacture Ayurvedic medicines in large scale. Thereafter many small factories were started in different parts of India. The vedic period around 1800 B.C. The classic period of the Indian medicine begins about 600 B.C., where the treatments of various types of ailments have been indicated. Due to Industrial evolution and general economic growth in Eastern countries, there was growth of a systematic Eastern Medicine. Gradually people started to develop confidence in allopathic and ayurvedic medicines were neglected.Many allopathic medicines which were established as life saving drugs, were later found to be harmful to humans. Such medicines have been proved to have side effects which cause damage to health. The modern man of scientific C1ptitude again tries to rotate the wheel of history in search of an alternative source/truth from natural resources. With this view many attempts have been made in India and abroad to unravel the truth, described in Vedas with regards to medicinal effects of flora and fauna. Although the Allopathic medicines are found to dominate over the Ayurvedic medicines, many remote areas of tribals are still continuing the traditional practice of using medicine from their natural surroundings.

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are known to contain innumerable bioactive compounds that play an important role in conventional as well as western medicine. These bioactive molecules occur in plants as secondary metabolites, which have pharmacological relevance and aid in defense mechanism. In India, herbal medicines have been the basis of treatment and cure for various diseases. Conventionally, natural products have been tested as crude extracts containing complex mixtures of compounds, which if showing a desired activity, require a process of purification and identification of the active components, which can be lengthy and efficient.

In order to understand the function of these active compounds, X-ray crystallographic studies are carried out.

The present study involves the three dimensional structure analysis of purified compounds from the plants Phyllanthus amarus, Sphaeranthus indicus, Scoparia dulcis and Mangifera indica and Leonotis nepetaefolia.

ABSTRACT

Nature provides a wealth of information on natural products with novel architectur and very high medical potential. Given the enormous medical and economic impac of natural product pharmaceuticals we have obvious reasons to improve the activitie of the existing compounds and to discover new metabolites. Although natural product are a proven source of drug candidates they exert powerful physiological effects in one form or other. Only a small proportion of these compounds satisfy the rigorou criteria set by the pharmaceutical company. Also the amount of active compound isolated from the natural products is so small that it is difficult to exploit it in an industrial level. So there arises a need to synthesise synthetic compounds which ma be tested for bioactivity from the easily available starting materials by a simpl methodology. The quest for finding new drugs against various diseases such as AIDS cancer etc. act as a motivating factor in designing synthesis of new materials. In thi way most of the compounds synthesized can be tested for bioactivity to be effectivel used to fi ht a ainst certain dreadful diseases.

We have synthesised some polycyclic heterocycles through cycloaddition methodology and explored the bioactivity of the products. These molecules have basic skeleton of the natural products and possess the biological properties of the natural products. Thus they may be termed as pseudo natural products. These compounds are screened for antifungal and antibacterial activities and are found to possess bioactivity.

Keywords : Heterocyclic compounds, antifungal activity, DMSO, pathogens, inhibition zone.

ABSTRACT

Natural sources have been exploited since the dawn of civilization for the sustenance of mankind. With the passage of time numerous medicines were discovered to treat various maladies utilizing the vast resources of land and the sea, along with the knowledge base support of folklores and folk medicines of different regions of the world, Marine natural products chemistry has gained prominence during the last four and half decades with a view to harnessing the vast potential of the sea particularly in search of drugs by virtue of modern science and technology. Products of marine algae or seaweeds have been used as medicine as well as food and feed and latterly as nutraceuticals. Advanced societies of the world consume seaweed extracts (in the form of alginates, agars and carrageenans) every day in their foods or pharmaceuticals that is complemented by the excellent safety records of commonly ingested species. In this account, I will be focusing on the health care applications of seaweeds.

Health care has two aspects e.g. healing or amelioration of disease conditions with medicines and the other being sustenance of the health system. Seaweeds have been reported to be the source of many bioactive and nutritionally important compounds e.g. antibacterial, antiviral, immunomodulator, cytotoxic, anticancer, neurotoxic, blood anticoagulant, antifertility, vitamins, proteins and minerals. Status of these activities in India and elsewhere in the world has been discussed.

ABSTRACT

Indole alkaloids gramine, tyramine and tryptamine were isolated from the aerial part of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. for the first time and their antimicrobial properties agains microbial pathogens were studied. Structures of the compounds were elucidated base upon the spectroscopic data such as ¹H-NMR, ¹³C- NMR and MS. The evaluations o the crude extract and the alkaloids for their efficacy in inhibiting the growth of huma pathogenic bacteria and dermatophytes were carried out in vitro. The crude extrac was effective in inhibiting the growth of all the tested microorganisms. Tryptamin and tyramine did not inhibit microbial growth when tested individually, but in combination the growth inhibition of Klebsiella pneumoniae was prominent. Gramin was the most effective one in inhibiting the growth of all the tested microbial pathogens

1. Introduction

Plant metabolites are the major sources of pharmaceutical food additives, fragrances and pesticides. It is estimated that the market potential for herbal drugs in the western world alone could range from US $ 4.9 billion to 47 billion by the year 2000 if the AIDS epidemic continues unchecked (Biotechnology and Development, 1991). A similar situation exists for plant based food additives, fragrances and bio-pesticides. The natural resources for plant based chemicals are limited but the consumer preference for natural products is greater. Alternative avenues for plant products have gained prominence during the past few years. In recent years, plant Biotechnology has gained considerable importance for the production of phytochemicals (Heble, 1996).

During the past three decades, several phytochemicals with biological activities have been identified from higher plants for plant tissue culture industry (Verpoorte et al., 1991). Vincristine, vinblastine, artemisinin, taxol and podophyllotoxin are in the list of approved drugs. Some products under clinical trials are forskolin, castanospermine, ginkgolides and hyperin (Heble, 1996). In recent years, there has been renewed interest in screening higher plants for novel biologically active products particularly to combat such ailment that have defined synthetics and antibiotics. This has resulted in the development therapeutics used in the treatment of cancer, hypertension, AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Introduction

Solanum trilobatum L., an important medicinal plant, belonging to Solanaceae is widely distributed in South Asia and has been used in Indian traditional medicinal systems of Siddha and Ayurveda. The members of Solanaceae accumulate steroidal alkaloids based on a C₂₇ cholestane skeleton, e.g. solasodine and tomatidine. Recently, mixtures of solasodine glycosides have been successfully used for the treatment of certain human skin carcinomas (Cham, 1994). Solasodine glycosides have antineoplastic activity in cell culture, animals and in humans (Cham and Daunter1990). It has been demonstrated that specific endogenous lectins which are present on the plasma membranes of susceptible cells recognize and bind the sugar moiety of the solasodine glycosides and the glycosides are subsequently internalized and cause cell death (Cham and Daunter1990). Hence the present study was undertaken to isolate the solasodine from S. trilobatum.

ABSTRACT

An efficient and reliable micropropagation and mycorrhization techniques were established for a medicinal plant Solanum trilobatum L., using internodal explant. Callus formation occurred from both the cut ends of explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (3.0 mg/l). Direct shoot and multiple shoot formation were noticed from the proximal cut end of explants on BA (2.0 mg/l) alone and BA (2.0 mg/ l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l). Root formation was directly induced from the basal cut end of explants cultured on IBA (1.0 mg/l). In vitro plantlet regeneration has been achieved on BA (2.0 mg/l) + IBA (1.0 mg/l). After 4 weeks, well-developed in vitro plantlets were hardened in plastic cups filled with sterile soil and vermiculite (3:1). During acclimatization, sterile Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungal spores were added for enhance the survivability of in vitro plants in the field condition. The level of biochemical changes and increased survivability were studied in 10 weeks old plants inoculated with spores of Glomus mosseae and Gigaspora margarita.

ABSTRACT

A rapid micropropagation technique have been established for Solanum trilobatum L., a medicinal plant from internodal explant. Callus formation was observed from both cut ends of explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (3.0 mg/l). Direct shoot and multiple shoot formation were noticed from explants (proximal cut end) on BAP (2.0 mg/l) alone and BAP (2.0 mg/l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l). Root formation was directly produced from the basal cut end of explants cultured on IBA (1.0 mg/l). In vitro plantlet regeneration has been achieved on BAP (2.0 mg/l) + IBA (1.0 mg/l). Regenerated plants were transferred to sterile vermiculite and soil mixture (3:1). In vitro propagated plants were grew successfully under the field conditions. In vitro propagation can be a useful tool for the conservation of this medicinal species.

ABSTRACT

Advances in biotechnology, particularly methods for culturing plant cells and tissues can provide new means for the commercial processing of even rare plants and th chemicals they produce. These new technologies will extend and enhance the usefulness of plants as renewable resources of valuable chemicals. Aristolochic acid is mainly found in the genus Aristolochia. Aristolochic acid has been shown to hav anti-tumour activity and has been recommended for its activity against various effect of snakebite and its capacity to inhibit phospholipase A2 or other enzymes Considering the importance of medicinal use of A. bracteolata and A. indica, in th present study, they were selected for in vitro development and rapid multiplication o plant through tissue culture. The study was undertaken to enhance the in vitr production of Aristolochic acid in different tissue cultures. Cell suspension culture was established from friable calli of both the species in M liquid medium. Bergmann plating technique was carried out for cell line selection fo more production of Aristolochic acid. Primary transformation was carried out by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 / pTOK233 with Gus and hpt genes to confirm the transgenic potential of A. bracteolata and A. indica. In order to enhance the productio of aristolochic acid in in vitro culture condition, the physical, chemical and biologica conditions were altered. Aristolochic acid was isolated, identified and purified from naturally growing plants as well as from tissue culture plants and all other cultur stages.

ABSTRACT

Advances in biotechnology, particularly methods for culturing plant cells and tissues, can provide new means for the commercial processing of even rare plants and the chemicals they produce. These new technologies will extend and enhance the usefulness of plants as renewable resources of valuable chemicals. Aristolochic acid is mainly found in the genus Aristolochia. Aristolochic acid has been shown to have anti-tumour activity and has been recommended for its activity against various effects of snakebite and its capacity to inhibit phospholipase A₂ or other enzymes. Considering the importance of medicinal use of A. bracteolata and A. indica, in the present study, they were selected for in vitro development and rapid multiplication of plant through tissue culture. The study was undertaken to enhance the in vitro production of Aristolochic acid in different tissue cultures. Cell suspension culture was established from friable calli of both the species in MS liquid medium. Bergmann plating technique was carried out for cell line selection for more production of Aristolochic acid. Primary transformation was carried out by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 / pTOK233 with Gus and hpt genes to confirm the transgenic potential of A. bracteolata and A. indica. In order to enhance the production of aristolochic acid in in vitro culture condition, the physical, chemical and biological conditions were altered. Aristolochic acid was isolated, identified and purified from naturally growing plants as well as from tissue culture plants and all other culture staes

ABSTRACT

According to WHO report, over 80% of the world population relies on traditional medicine, largely plant based for their primary healthcare needs. India has 15 Agroclimatic zones, 12 ecoregions and 47,000-plant sp. and is one of the 12-mega biodiversity centres. The Indian Systems of Medicine have identified 1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are used in the preparation of commercial drugs. These medicinal plants contribute to 80% of the raw materials used in the preparation of drugs.

1. Introduction

The heritage of medicinal plants used in India has an ancient history. The epic of Ramayana witnessed Sanjivani Booti as life saving drug. Two important compendia on medicinal plants i.e., Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita were published between 1000 BC and 600 BC. In these Ayurvedic literatures, uses of more than 1,200 plant drugs along with their action and specific therapeutic applications are mentioned. Charaka made 50 vargas (groups) of drugs while Sushruta made 38 ganas (groups) of drugs (Singh and Gautam, 1997). India, with its diverse agro-climate, harbors large plant-diversity. Eastern Himalayas comprising Darjeeling, Sikkim and adjacent Nepal as well as Bhutan hills are very rich in florastic diversity, several of which are endangered but economically useful medicinal plants with high demand in national as well as in international market (Manandhar, 1999). A great many of these wild Himalayan medicinal plants have found their way into modern bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-cosmetics in recent times (Rai et. al., 2000). One such species is Nepalese Kutki (Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora, Pennell) belongs to family Scrophulariaceae.

P. scrophulariiflora is better known by the name Nepali Kutki. The rhizome of this plant has been found to contain the chemicals like Kutkin, D-mannitol and vanillic acid (Yang, 1996). It is said to have effects on fever, malnutrition due to digestive disturbance, jaundice, diarrhoea and dysentery (Zhang et al., 1994). In India it is valued for their demonstrated value as an antibiotic. They are also used as an adulterant of, or as substitute for, Gentiana kurrooa. Properties that these two species share include the ability to stimulate appetite and gastric secretions (Jain, 1968). In Nepal rhizome of this species is also used as a cathartic, in case of dyspepsia, as a purgative as well as in the treatment of scorpion bites (Anon., 1993). Some of the important active photochemicals are listed in Table 1.

ABSTRACT

Three medicinal plants namely, Eryngium foetidum (Apiaceae), Centella asiatic (Apiaceae) and Hemidesmus indicus (Asclepiadaceae) were collected from Similipa Biosphere Reserve forest and used in this investigation. Ethanolic, methanolic chloroform and aqueous extracts of different parts like leaf, root and stem were prepare through standard techniques and screened for their anticandidal potencies agains Candida albicans, C. tropicalis and C. krusei. Anticandidal activity of the extracts wer tested using preliminary and secondary screening methods, like disc diffusion metho (DDM) & agar-cup-plate-method (ACPM) and poisoned food technique (PFT respectively. On an average the inhibitory tendency of the extracts can be arranged as ethanolic extracts > methanolic extacts > chloroform extracts > aqueous extracts Maximum degree of inhibition was observed against C. krusei. Among the plant Hemidesmus indicus showed better anticandidal activities in comparison to other tw plants tested.

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity is a major resource for drug development. Since ancient times mankind has exploited nature for all kind of useful products and enjoyed the colors, flavors and fragrances of flowers and leaves etc. The current global resurgence in the use of plant based drugs offers an ideal opportunity for the country to emerge as a major player in the herbal products market. Herbal medicines are chemically diverse and may contain thousands of bioactive compounds, which can be of immense value to the pharmaceutical industries. Since ages, herbal medicine has been a major part of traditional knowledge play an important role for identification of biological resources worthy of commercial exploitation. Origanum vulgare L. is a wild plant of Labiatae family grows widely in Ladakh region (11500 to 13000 ft). The local people of this region use this plant for various ailment and culinary purposes due to the potential of active ingredients. The present objective of this study is to isolate the thymol content, a major ingredient of O. vulgare and quantifying the same. The volatile oils were extracted through hydro-distillation and active compound was analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC-17A Shimadzu). Our results demonstrate that the thymol content of O. vulgare from this region is 80.28% as compared to plants grown at other low altitude regions. It is well known that plants under stress respond with biosynthesis of phytochemicals to enable them to adapt to the harsh environmental conditions. Ladakh being unique in many aspects due to its geo-climatic conditions like high elevation, extreme cold, dry weather and low humidity. Plants surviving in Ladakh therefore have unique chemical composition as compared to those grown elsewhere.

ABSTRACT

The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of α-mangostin on cardiac markers against isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats. Induction of rats with Isoproterenol (150 mg/kg body wt, i.p) for 2 days resulted in a marked reduction in the activities of cardiac tissue marker enzymes (LDH, CPK, GOT and GPT). Pretreatment with α-mangostin (200 mg/kg of body wt/day) orally for 6 days significantly prevented these alterations and restored the enzyme activities to near normal levels. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate the protective effect of α-mangostin on isoproterenol induced experimental myocardial infarction in rats.

ABSTRACT

The Kolanthamamalai hill an offshoot of Kalakadu Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of Southern Western Ghats is one of the important forest reserves of Tirunelveli District. The physiography of this range differs much from the adjacent portions of Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu state due to its discontinuity, varying altitude, ridges and their height and breadth. The altitude of the hilly rugged terrain ranges from 150 to 300m, with the highest peak being Kolanthamamalai. Field visits were made in the study area to survey and to gather information on medicinal flora. The vegetation of Kolanthamamalai hill is a mixed dry deciduous type characteristic of the high and low altitude of the mountains respectively. Lowland vegetation girdles the base of the mountain on the eastern and southern side of the hills. Along the foot hills vegetation is an open scrub with occasional trees. The low-lying areas and the seasonal watercourses are densely vegetated. The natural barriers, habitat diversity, climate and moderate rainfall have resulted in the development of unique plant diversity.

ABSTRACT

A low molecular weight antifungal protein has been purified from the leaves of a medicinal herb, Mentha viridis, L. using a combination of cold acetone precipitation, carboxymethyl cellulose column, Q-sepharose column chromatography, and preparatory native PAGE techniques. The purified protein migrated as a single band on SDS-PAGE, with a molecular weight of ca 15.5 kDa. The purified leaf protein of M. viridis inhibited mycelial growth of phytopathogens such as Fusarium solani, Fusarium sp., and Pythium aphanidermatum. The purified protein from the leaves of M. viridis inhibited the growth of human pathogens such as Candida albicans and C. tropicalis (75 mg/mL). This inhibition is concentration dependent. The purified antifungal protein of leaves of M. viridis did not show protease, chitinase, and b-1, 3 glucanase activity.

ABSTRACT

The present communication thr ows light on 118 species of flowering plants (Angiosperms) found in Dewghat forest (in Koraon forest range of Uttar Pradesh), which are traditionally used by the “Kol” tribal community and some other forest dwelling people, viz. Belbans, Bahelia, Mushahar etc. An enumeration of these plants materials is prepared with their botanical names, local / vernacular names, family names and using practices provided in this paper. This is the first ever report from the area under study on this aspect. In case of Anogeissus latifolia the leaf juice is used poisonous insect bite, grounded flower used in chronic diseases and its fruit is used asthma. The seeds of Cleome viscosa are given orally in stomach diseases. The leaves of Cassia alata used for ringworms and skin disease. The leaves juice and seed of Euphorbia thymifolia is used as a strong purgative. It leaf juice is also used for the remedy of ringworms and other skin diseases. It is an antidote for snakebite. The present study is aimed at indexing of all medicinal flora occurring in Dewghat forest (U.P.) and their uses for the benefit of the researchers to undertake studies on the prospects and potential of commercial exploitation.

ABSTRACT

Our country is well known for developing into rich and ancient traditional system of medicines based on plants. For centuries, these ancient cultures and professional practicing on traditional system viz. Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha could remain in house hold and pass through generations to generation. India is being a developing country, of late uses bioactive natural products (secondary metabolites) using in vitro culture technology of the medicinal plant species. Recently, commercial utilization of these compounds using modern techniques is in good progress. The developed western affluent world has to now depend on these compounds mostly in drug and pharmaceutical industry in recent years. Orchids as medicinal herbs, details on plant medicinal potentialities, traditional medicinal systems viz. Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha have been described.

ABSTRACT

Albizzia lebbeck is commonly called as “vagai” in Tamil belonging to family Mimosaceae, is a large deciduous tree commonly seen throughout India. Our present aim, was to study the CNS depressant activity of Albizzia lebbeck in wistar albino rats. The bark and leaves of Albizzia lebbeck were shade dried and coarsely powdered. About 500 gm of powder was extracted using petroleum ether, chloroform and alcohol by cold maceration process. The depressant activity was accessed using actophotometer. It was claimed that in indigenous system of medicine the drug has anti-inflammatory, opthalmopathy, leucoderma, leprosy, wounds, ulcers and CNS depressant activity.

ABSTRACT

Solanum trilobatum Linn. (Solanaceae) was investigated for the induction of tumor using a soil borne bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Explants like stem segments and nodes were infected with bacterium. Tumors were induced from nodal explants within 10 days of infection. These explants were then transferred to MS basal medium and their growth was observed to be independent of exogenous supply of phytohormones. The growth rate of transformed callus was 10-fold as compared to control. They are used as a promising source of secondary metabolites of medicinal significance.

ABSTRACT

In this study, different concentrations of acetone, alcohol, benzene and chloroform extract of Wedelia chinensis were carried out against human pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. High frequency of anti-bacterial activity was observed on the Escherichia coli. Moderate amount of antibacterial activity was observed on Staphylococcus aureus. Highly resistant bacterium to this plant was screened through antibacterial pour plate method, which showed on the following organisms Citrobacter diversens, Serratia marcescens and Streptococcus pyogenes. The aim of this study is main evaluation of antimicrobial activity of plant. The ethanolic extracts demonstrating antibacterial and antifungal activity could result in the discovery of antibacterial and antifungal agents.