NOPR Collection:

Fungal contamination of stony endocarp (Rudraksha) of Elaeocarpus spp. from three different countries

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Fungal contamination of stony endocarp (Rudraksha) of Elaeocarpus spp. from three different countries Authors: Kedia, Akash; Ivanov, Dmitry S; Dubey, Nawal Kishore Abstract: The study deals with fungal contamination of stony endocarp (Rudraksha) of Elaeocarpus spp. collected from India, Nepal and Indonesia. For mycological analysis, the agar test method including surface sterilized and non surface sterilized samples were used. Eight species belonging to four different genera of fungi were isolated. The genera isolated were Aspergillus (four species), Penicillium (two species), Alternaria (one species) and Rhizopus (one species). The study emphasizes that fungal contamination would deteriorate the quality of stony endocarp (Rudraksha) of Elaeocarpus spp. and also affect its marketing. This is the first record of mycoflora study from stony endocarp (Rudraksha) of Elaeocarpus sphaericus (Gaertn.) K. Schum. from India and Nepal and E. ganitrus Roxb. from Indonesia. Page(s): 97-100

Indigenous knowledge on fibre extraction of Sunnhemp in Bundelkhand Region, India

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Indigenous knowledge on fibre extraction of Sunnhemp in Bundelkhand Region, India Authors: Bhatt, KC; Saha, Deepankar Abstract: Indigenous knowledge plays a vital role in assessing the trend of evolution of human civilization; hence documentation of local uses of plants and traditional practices developed through use of human intellect now has become an important activity due to implementation of various issues related to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), etc. Keeping this in view, an attempt has been made to document indigenous knowledge on fibre extraction of sunnhemp still practiced in some pockets among the tribal communities of Bundelkhand region, reflecting to preserve the age old tradition of farming communities residing there. Page(s): 92-96

A note on distribution, ethnobotany and economic potential of Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) Hook. f . & Thoms. in North-eastern India

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: A note on distribution, ethnobotany and economic potential of Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) Hook. f . & Thoms. in North-eastern India Authors: Semwal, D P; Bhatt, KC; Bhandari, D C; Panwar, N S Abstract: Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) Hook. f. & Thoms., one of the high oil yielding Cucurbitaceous species, is traditionally used as food and medicine by several tribal communities inhabiting North-eastern hill (NEH) region of India. These communities comprise a large part of population of this region and still maintain traditional knowledge associated with the local floristic wealth. This species is a promising candidate for commercial exploitation as oil, food and medicinal crop. Page(s): 88-91

Ocimum sanctum L. a potential angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor useful in hypertension

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Ocimum sanctum L. a potential angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor useful in hypertension Authors: Chaudhary, Sushil Kumar; Mukherjee, Pulok K; Maity, Niladri; Nema, Neelesh K; Bhadra, Santanu; Saha, Bishnu Pada Abstract: The main objective of this study was to determine the in vitro Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition and antioxidant activity of standardized extract of the Ocimum sanctum L. leaves and its fractions. The ACE inhibition activity and antioxidant activity were investigated by UV method. In ACE inhibition method, the synthetic substrate hippuryl-L-histidyl-L-leucine was allowed to react with a test sample containing ACE, to produce hippuric acid. Dried hippuric acid was dissolved in distilled water, the absorbance of the solution was determined in the ultraviolet region and from the concentration of hippuric acid and the ACE inhibition activity was calculated. The antioxidant activity of the plant extract/fractions were examined on the basis of the scavenging effect on the stable DPPH free radical activity. Different concentrations of methanol extract of O. sanctum L. and eugenol were subjected to HPLC analysis using the mobile phase (methanol: water: acetic acid; 60 %: 40 %: 1 %). O. sanctum L. oil, eugenol and ethyl acetate fractions showed the maximum ACE inhibition activity in a concentration-dependent manner with IC₅₀ value of 32.11 ± 3.6, 42.16 ± 2.7 and 56.83 ± 2.8 µg/mL, respectively. Strong DPPH radical scavenging was also found in O. sanctum L. oil, methanol extract and ethyl acetate fractions, showing IC₅₀ value of 40.31± 3.5µg/mL, 105.62 ± 4.6 and 145.31 ± 5.8µg/mL, respectively. O. sanctum L. extract/fractions, eugenol and O. sanctum L. oil inhibited ACE in concentration-dependent manner. Page(s): 83-87