EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF ANALGESIC ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF TERMINALIA PANICULATA BARK IN RATS

This study was conducted to determine the analgesic activity of aqueous extract of Terminalia paniculata (Tp) bark. Analgesic activity was determined using hot plate and tail flick method. Thirty adult Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups of 6 rats each. Group I (control) received 2 mL water, Group II -codeine 5 mg kg-1, Group III, IV and V 100, 200 and 400 mg kg-1 of Tp, respectively. Latency time to pain sensation was noted. In hot plate model, group 5 showed significant increase in reaction time compared to groups 3 and 4 at all-time points and was comparable to standard codeine at 120th and 180th min. In tail flick method, standard codeine showed significant increased latency time compared to all three doses of Tp at 90th, 120th and 180th min. Group 5 showed significant increased reaction time compared to groups 3 and 4 from 60th min to 180th min. Group 4 showed increased analgesic activity compared to group 3 at 90th, 120th and 180th min but group 3 was significantly better at 30th min. Thus T. paniculata possesses analgesic potential.

GENETIC VARIATION OF FRUIT TRAITS AMONG NATURAL POPULATIONS OF TERMINALIA PANICULATA ROTHIN SOUTHERN WESTERN GHATS, PENINSULAR INDIA

A reconnaissance survey was conducted in Southern Western Ghats, India to identify the wild populations of Terminalia paniculata. From the explorative survey, 16 natural populations from different localities of the study area were identified. Collected 36 fruits from each tree and fruit trait quantification of total 3456 fruits (36 x 16 x 6) from 16 populations were used for the study. Hierarchical clustering of selected populations and correlations among fruit traits and between tree traits and fruit traits visualised using a dendrogram. The results indicated significant differences in fruit traits like fruit fresh mass, fruit large wing length and fruit large wing width. Clustering of fruit characters for all the accessions revealed the genetic relatedness between accessions. It reveals that selected populations of T. paniculata belong to two major clusters and confirms that 16 populations are either adjacent or distant in-terms of fruit traits are independent of the geographical station. The relationship between fruit traits indicates a significant positive correlation between fruit traits ranging from 0.352 to 0.739. Even though fruit traits show significant correlation within, a non-significant and very week correlation was obtained with tree stand-up traits except tree girth with fruit large wing length (21.4 %).

An ethnobotanical analysis on flora-medicine continuum among the tribal inhabitants of Ratnagiri and Palghar district, Maharashtra, India

Background: Considering the applicability of wild plants in the pharmaceutical industries, two tribal predominant areas of Maharashtra- Sangameshwar Taluka (Ratnagiri district) and Saphale village (Palghar district) - were chosen to document the local traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. Methods: The ethnomedicinal data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey and extensive personal dialogues adopting the chain sampling referral method with native villagers and Hakims (Traditional healers). The field-based investigations were carried out from September 2017 to April 2018 under the regulatory directives of K.J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce (Autonomous- affiliated to University of Mumbai). Results: A total of 51 Traditional Medicinal Plants (TMPs) were documented from the responses of 92 inhabitants in the study areas. The investigators taxonomically categorized these plants into their botanical families, yielding the results- 22 dicot families, 7 monocot families, 2 magnoliids, and 1 pteridophytic family- for the present study. Results revealed that leaves were the most frequently used medicinal part of the documented species and decoction was the most commonly prepared medicinal formulation. Conclusion: Of the 51 TMPs, six medicinal plants- Adhatoda vasica, Aloe vera, Ampelocissus latifolia, Glossocardia bosvallia, Ricinus communis, and Woodfordia fruticosa - were found to be common in both the study regions. We believed that social factors tend to influence the traditional medicinal knowledge since the same plants were known by different names for treating two unlike ailments. Highest use reports were observed for Terminalia paniculata in Sangameshwar Taluka (Ratnagiri district) and Ampelocissus latifolia in Saphale village (Palghar district). The study realised the fact that both the areas were rich in floral vegetation with interminable floral diversity but remained botanically virgin and unexplored neither for medicinal nor for scientific endeavors. Keywords: Ethnobotany, Traditional medicinal plants (TMPs), Tribal, Hakims, Maharashtra

ASSESSMENT OF ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL AND ANTIGENOTOXICITY ANALYSIS THROUGH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS IN TERMINALIA PANICULATA ROTH

Objective: The present study is mainly focused on the antigenotoxicity and antioxidant potential of the fruit extract of an important dye yielding plant Terminalia paniculata Roth. Methods: Genoprotective activity of the fruit extract was studied by Allium cepa root tip assay. Three modes of treatment were used to perform the antigenotoxicity, that is, pre-treatment, post-treatment, and simultaneous treatment. For the study of antioxidant potential, four different assays were performed. Results: Antigenotoxicity studies revealed the protective role of the extract in chromosomal aberrations induced by 2% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on A. cepa root tip meristem. The fruit extract showed a significant modulatory effect by means of an inhibition percentage and also it showed a characteristic reversing of chromosomal aberrations induced by H2O2. While in the case of antioxidant activity, the plant extract showed an appreciable antioxidant potential. Four different assays were used to determine the antioxidant potential of T. paniculata. Of these 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate radical scavenging activity revealed almost equal effect to that of the standard. Conclusions: In the present investigation, it has been found that the important dye yielding plant T. paniculata has a significant role in various commercial industries such as food, cosmetics, clothes, and pharmaceutics due to its efficient protective role.

Neotypification of Terminalia paniculata (Combretaceae)

While preparing a revised treatment of the family Combretaceae for “Flora of India Project,” our attention was drawn on Terminalia paniculata Roth (1821: 383) which was described on the basis of a specimen collected by Benjamin Heyne from peninsular India. The species is well documented in Indian Floras (e.g. Wight & Arnott 1834, Beddome 1869, Brandis 1874, Clarke 1878, Cooke 1903, Talbot 1911, Gamble 1919 and Chandrabose 1983). Gangopadhyay & Chakrabarty (1997) in their revision of the family Combretaceae of Indian subcontinent mentioned that the type of this species is not extant. The type material of T. paniculata housed in the Berlin herbarium (B; herbaria acronyms follow Thiers 2017) was presumably destroyed during the World War II. In the Kew herbarium (K), there is a collection by Benjamin Heyne (K000786096: image!) identified and listed in Wallich’s Numerical List as T. triopteris B.Heyne ex Wallich (1831: no. 3980B). This material contains two twigs, one flowering and the other fruiting and this appears to be a specimen not seen by Roth (1821) since he clearly mentioned in the protologue: “Fructum non vidi.” Thus, as per the provisions of the Code (Mc Neill et al., 2012), as there is no other extant original material (Article 9.7) traceable, a neotype (Articles 9.11 and 9.13) is designated here for T. paniculata from Peninsular India, where Benjamin Heyne made botanical explorations (Burkill, 1965). The neotype specimen is housed in the Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, India (CAL) and its duplicate in the Madras Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Coimbatore, India (MH).

Rearing performance of tropical Tasar silkworm (Antheraea mylitta Drury) on Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) and its commercial silk properties

Tasar silkworm, Antheraeamylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is one of the commercially exploited non-mulberry silkworms mainly reared outdoor on many wild plants. The ecorace of tasar silkworm occurring in cashew (Anacardiumoccidentale L.) plantations of Puttur was identified as A. mylitta KE-02. Pooled egg, larval and pupal period of tasar silkworm upon indoor rearing on cashew recorded were 6.43, 28.69 and 25.36 days, respec-tively, with the effective rate of rearing of 40 %. The average cocoon weight, pupal weight and shell weight recorded were 6.24 g, 5.30 and 1.18 g, respectively. The high shell ratio of 22.26 %, shows a healthy trend for high yielding tasar rearing on cashew. The commercial silk properties of cashew reared cocoons were assessed in comparison to silk properties of cocoons reared on Terminalia paniculata. Average filament length, average non-breakable filament length, denier, strength and elongation were found 547.2 m, 1231.6 m, 8.92 D, 1.57 gpd and 16.9 %, respectively on cashew and 518.2 m, 161.94 m, 9.13 D, 1.73 gpd and 18.7 % , respectively on T. paniculata. The present study has documented the biology of tasar silk worm on cashew and also the commercial silk properties of cocoon reared on cashew at preliminary level.