Bioactive properties and chemical composition of six walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars.

Pereira JA, Oliveira I, Sousa A, Ferreira IC, Bento A, Estevinho L.

Source CIMO/Escola Superior Agrria, Instituto Politcnico de Bragana, Campus Sta Apolnia, Apartado 1 172, 5301-855 Bragana, Portugal. jpereira@ipb.pt

Abstract
The chemical composition, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity were studied in six walnuts (Juglans regia L.) cultivars (cv. Franquette, Lara, Marbot, Mayette, Mellanaise and Parisienne) produced in Portugal. Concerning their chemical composition the main constituent of fruits was fat ranging from 78.83% to 82.14%, being the nutritional value around 720kcal per 100g of fruits. Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid reaching the maximum value of 60.30% (cv. Lara) followed by oleic, linolenic and palmitic acids. The aqueous extracts of walnut cultivars were investigated by the reducing power assay, the scavenging effect on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and betacarotene linoleate model system. All the walnut extracts exhibited antioxidant capacity in a concentration-dependent manner being the lowest EC(50) values obtained with extracts of cv. Parisienne. Their antimicrobial capacity was also checked against gram positive (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and fungi (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans), revealing activity against the different tested microorganisms.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18334279

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaves: Phenolic compounds, antibacterial activity and antioxidant potential of different cultivars
Jos Alberto Pereira
a a, ,

, Ivo Oliveira , Anabela Sousa , Patrcia Valento , Paula B. Andrade , Isabel

c a b a

C.F.R. Ferreira , Federico Ferreres , Albino Bento , Rosa Seabra , Letcia Estevinho

Purchase
a

CIMO/Escola Superior Agrria, Instituto Politcnico de Bragana, Campus Sta Apolnia, Apt. 1172, 5301-855 Bragana, Portugal b REQUIMTE/Servio de Farmacognosia, Faculdade de Farmcia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Anbal Cunha, 164, 4099-030 Porto, Portugal
c

Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS (CSIC), P.O. Box 164, 30100 Campus Univ. Espinardo, Murcia, Spain

Received 17 March 2007; Accepted 4 June 2007. Available online 12 June 2007.

Abstract
Different cultivars of walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaves (Cv. Lara, Franquette, Mayette, Marbot, Mellanaise and Parisienne) grown in Portugal, were investigated in what concerns phenolic compounds and antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Phenolics analysis was performed by reversed-phase HPLC/DAD and 10 compounds were identified and quantified: 3- and 5-caffeoylquinic acids, 3- and 4-p-coumaroylquinic acids, p-coumaric acid, quercetin 3-galactoside, quercetin 3-pentoside derivative, quercetin 3-arabinoside, quercetin 3-xyloside and quercetin 3rhamnoside. The antimicrobial capacity was screened against Gram positive (Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and fungi (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans). Walnut leaves selectively inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria, being B. cereus the most susceptible one (MIC 0.1 mg/mL). Gram negative bacteria and fungi were resistant to the extracts at 100 mg/mL. Lara walnut leaves were also submitted to antibacterial assays using 18 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus sp. Antioxidant activity was accessed by the reducing power assay, the scavenging effect on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and -carotene linoleate model system. In a general way, all of the studied walnut leaves cultivars presented high antioxidant activity (EC 50 values lower than 1 mg/mL), being Cv. Lara the most effective one. Keywords: Walnut leaves; Phenolics; Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant properties

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691507001949

http://assets1.pubget.com/mesh_browser/Human%20Activities/.../Plants/Plant%20Families%20and%2 0Groups/Angiosperms/Juglandaceae/Juglans/pg/2

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/meetings/89/pdf/FullTech.pdf

Total phenols, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husks
Ivo Oliveira, Anabela Sousa, Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira, Albino Bento, Letcia Estevinho, Jos Alberto Pereira
,

Purchase

CIMO/Escola Superior Agrria, Instituto Politcnico de Bragana, Campus Sta Apolnia, Apartado 1 172, 5301-855 Bragana, Portugal

Received 4 February 2008; Accepted 11 March 2008. Available online 28 March 2008.

Abstract
The total phenols content and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were studied in walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husks aqueous extracts of five different cultivars (Franquette, Mayette, Marbot, Mellanaise and Parisienne). Total phenols content was determined by colorimetric assay and their amount ranged from 32.61 mg/g of GAE (cv. Mellanaise) to 74.08 mg/g of GAE t (cv. Franquette). The antioxidant capacity of aqueous extracts was assessed through reducing power assay, scavenging effects on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and -carotene linoleate model system. A concentration-dependent antioxidative capacity was verified in reducing power and DPPH assays, with EC50 values lower than 1 mg/mL for all the tested extracts. The antimicrobial capacity was screened against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, and fungi. All the extracts inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria, being Staphylococcus aureus the most susceptible one with MIC of 0.1 mg/mL for all the extracts. The results obtained indicate that walnut green husks may become important in the obtainment of a noticeable source of compounds with health protective potential and antimicrobial activity. Keywords: Walnut green husks; Total phenols; Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691508001439

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Forestry Bulletin

Vol.7,No.2; YEAR-2007

MEDICINAL PLANTS SPECIAL

Sustainable Development of Medicinal Plant Resources in India Medicinal Plants: Green Gold for Human Health, Well-Being and Environment Environmental Ups and Downs Medicinal Plant Resources of Meghalaya: Endemism, Threat Status and Consumption Pattern Growing of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Agroforestry: Wimcos Experience Medicinal Plants Diversity within Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove in Garhwal Himalaya Viewpoint: Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Comparative Overview Studies on Genetic Variability in Asparagus racemosus (WILLD.) for Different Traits of Economic Value Enhancement of Forest Productivity through Sustainable Management of Microstylis wallichii Status of Collectors, Cultivators and Marketing of Medicinal Plants in Uttarakhand Collection and Marketing of Medicinal Plants in Uttarakhand Dominant Medicinal Plant Species in Pangi Valley: A Study of Their Ecological Profile, Trends in Trade and Contribution to State Royalty

Consumption and Production Pattern of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Himachal Pradesh: A Situational Review Bioactive Principles of Some Forest Plants Antidiabetic Activity of Polygonatum verticillatum (Linn.) Allioni in Streptozotocine Induced NonInsulin Dependent Diabetic Rats Germination Behaviour of Large Cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) in Different Altitudinal Gradients of Uttarakhand Himalaya Altitudinal Gradients of Uttarakhand Himalaya 103 Select Bibliography on Medicinal Plants Milestone: Charaka
ENVIS CENTRE ON FORESTRY

FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

(INDIAN COUNCIL OF FORESTRY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION) DEHRADUN

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINAL PLANT RESOURCES IN INDIA

Chandra Prakash Kala and Bikram Singh Sajwan
National Medicinal Plants Board, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi - 110 001

Introduction

he World Health Organisation has pointed out that globally, a

large population relies on the traditional systems of medicines, largely plant based, to meet their primary health care needs. India is well known for the development of many valuable traditional health care systems which are largely plant based. All these traditional medical systems have accumulated a great deal of knowledge on the various medicinal plant species. Of the total medicinal plant species reported to occur in India, more than 960 species are now in active trade. There are approximately 9,000 manufacturing units in the country and for manufacturing herbal drugs in these units most of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild (India. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, 2006; Kala and Sajwan, 2007).

The repeated unregulated and un-scientific collection of medicinal plants from the wild has led to a decline in the population of many valuable and commercially important species. The weakening of customary laws, which have regulated the use of natural resources, is among the causes of threatening the very existence of many such species. These customary laws have often proved to be easily diluted by modern socio-economic forces (Kala et al., 2006). Threat assessment studies carried out in recent years have placed many species on the Red-list. International treaties and national policies have been enacted and implemented for the conservation of biodiversity with a major emphasis on the medicinal plant species. The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are the major treaties, which enable to regulate the over-exploitation of valuable biodiversity including rare and endangered speciesof medicinal values. At the national level in India, the Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Biological Diversity Act, 2002 are the examples of countrywide interest in protecting the useful biological diversity (Sajwan and Kala, 2007). In view of integrating public concerns with the conservation of medicinal plants the concept of establishing medicinal plants conservation areas was brought in, which is a step ahead in the conservation of medicinal plants. There are many major issues, which need to be studied and synthesized for sustainable development of the medicinal plants related sector. The present paper, therefore, discusses some of the major issues and recent developments in the medicinal plant sector in India. Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas To conserve the medicinal plants for long period of time in its natural habitats medicinal plants conservation areas (MPCAs) must be identified and established. Since each agro-climatic zone is unique in terms of diversity of medicinal plant species, MPCA is required to be established in each zone so that the maximum diversity of medicinal plants may be brought under in-situ conservation programmes. The number of MPCAs may be increased as per the diversity of habitats and microhabitats of the respective

agro-climatic zones as such areas require focused attention due to rich biological diversity. The initiatives taken by the Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) in building the concept of MPCAs is praiseworthy. The major objectives of establishing MPCA are: 1. to conserve the diversity and richness of medicinal plants in natural habitats across various agro-climatic zones, 2. to disseminate and strengthen the values of medicinal plants, its significance and conservation education; 3. to develop long-term institutionalized mechanism for conservation of medicinal plants, assessing their degree of threat, population status along with identifying threatened medicinal plant species and undertaking measures for their recovery; 4. to develop dialogues and sharing of experiences among different stakeholders of the medicinal plants sector who are actively involved in the conservation, cultivation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants; and 5.to facilitate linkages between the medicinal plant conservation organizations and medicinal plant user groups. One of the major tasks of MPCA is to involve local communities and assure them for sharing of benefits accrued from the medicinal plants sector and MPCAs. This community-oriented policy is required to realize that rural and tribal communities are among the key custodians of medicinal plants. Identification of proper areas for establishing MPCA is one of the important tasks. Areas traditionally known for their medicinal plants richness, occurrence of endemic species, representative of the forest types, high density of prioritized medicinal plant species and minimum level of legal protection may be some of the deciding factors for selection of MPCAs. Apart from conservation aspects, many more activities may be taken up in MPCAs which includes, developing a complete set of database on each MPCAs. On the basis of such database the strategies may be developed for future course of action in

developing such MPCAs. Ex-situ Conservation and Cultivation of Medicinal Plants Ex-situ conservation of medicinal plant is a complementary action to conserve the genetic diversity of these species. It is especially desirable in case of species where wild populations have dwindled to critical levels and viable populations for some of these species are not available for initiating in-situ conservation action. Establishing plantations of species of conservation concern for use in the Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) industry is required. These plantations will also function as field gene banks and as seed orchards for sourcing quality seeds. Special projects covering end to end activities in the supply chain for rare and highly endangered species of medicinal plants through reputed organizations may be supported. Application of biotechnological tools for germplasm conservation is required, particularly for the recalcitrant seeds or species that do not set seeds, through in-vitro banks. There are many rare and endangered medicinal plant species, which need special care and conservation through application of science and technology. Developing suitable propagation packages for mass production of planting material, analysis of phyto-chemicals for quality control and large scale cultivation of rare species are some of the areas where one can achieve the goal of conservation as well sustainable utilization of medicinal plant species. Micro-propagation and tissue culture techniques provide opportunities for genetic improvement and large-scale production of plant species. In-vitro propagation could produce new cultivars that are rich in active ingredients. To make cultivation of medicinal plants lucrative, it is necessary to support these efforts - both technically and financially. A programme to support cultivation through subsidy was implemented over the 10th Five Years Plan period by National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), an apex body dealing in all the matters related to the medicinal plants sector. Whereas the programme has generally resulted in encouraging cultivation of many species of conservation concern and those in high demand by the AYUSH industry, a number of other species used in AYUSH medicine continued to be

sourced from the wild. The scheme of NMPB seeks to support cultivation of more and more species critical to AYUSH systems. NMPB has supported the farmers to cultivate medicinal plants in 40,000 hectares of land. About 120 species of medicinal plants have been brought under cultivation, which include many rare and endangered species such as Aconitum heterophyllum, Saussurea costus, Commiphora wightii, Gloriosa superba, Saraca asoea, Swertia chirayita, Nardostachys jatamansi, etc. (Kala and Sajwan, 2007). Establishing Medicinal Plants Facilitation Centres (MPFCs) Medicinal plants being new to the farming systems, a lot of support is required to be provided to the growers/farmers by way of technology dissemination, capacity building, production of quality planting material (QPM) and its certification when raised through NGOs and other government organizations. To meet these requirements, NMPB identifies partner institutions/organizations to act as a one-stop shop for the problems of farmers. Any such organization which has the necessary expertise and infrastructure can be designated as the Medicinal Plants Facilitation Centre (MPFC). In the initial stage, NMPB has identified 19 organizations for establishing MPFCs (Table 1). To maintain uniformity, each MPFC will organize, at least, 15 training programmes (5 per yr) and 3 stakeholders meet (workshop; one per yr). It is proposed to designate one or two such centres in each state. The NMPB provides financial support to such organizations for its role as the MPFC. The activities that are envisaged for the MPFC are as follows: Authentication of quality raw materials on the basis of taxonomic identification and chemical standardization. Act as a clearing-house and certification agency for source authentication of medicinal plants (cultivation and not from the wild). Technical know how pertaining to cultivation, post harvest and value addition. To oversee/monitor production of quality planting material by various agencies.

 Creation of linkages with marketing agencies/industry for assurance of buyback arrangements and certification of quality materials/products Promotion of global marketing system. Centre will also raise and supply quality planting material (QPM) and coordinate with the state forest departments and NGOs in production and supply of QPM and validation of the quality parameters of the QPM raised by these institutions. Centre will organize workshops and training programmes for farmers and other stakeholders as and when required.
Table 1. Organizations selected for establishing medicinal plants facilitation centres (MPFCs) by the NMPB S.No. State 01. Assam 02. Bihar 03. Chhattisgarh 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Name of organisation Assam Agriculture University Rajendra Agriculture University, Bihar Indra Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Junagadh Agriculture University, Gujarat Anand Agriculture University Ch. Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural Harayana University Dr. Y.S.Parmar University of Himachal Pradesh Horticulture and Forestry Jammu and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Kashmir Jammu Jharkhand Birsa agricultural University Karnataka Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra Kerala Kerala agricultural University Madhya Pradesh Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vidhyapeeth Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Maharastra Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth Orissa university of Agriculture and orissa Technology Punjab Punjab Agricultural University Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

16. 17.

Uttarakhand West Bengal

G.B.Pant University Of Agriculture and Technology Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama

Developing Guidelines for Good Agricultural Practices Information on good agricultural practices (GAP) of many important medicinal plant species is either not available or meager. This information is important in view of quality assurance and safety of the products derived from medicinal plant species. Many organizations and institutions are involved in developing the GAP of medicinal plant species; however the information is not yet put together in consolidated forms. The available information on agronomy of medicinal plants developed by some institutions is also not percolated to the farm level. Reasons could be many but the growers are raising the crop in an unorganized manner. In certain cases, the publications of certain cultivation aspects, seems to have no research backup, resulting in skewed information to the growers. The NMPB in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed country specific guidelines for GAP with the following major objectives: (1) to contribute the quality assurance of medicinal plant materials, as source for herbal medicines that aims to ensure optimal safety and therapeutic guarantee, (2) to ensure and support the sustainable availability of quality medicinal plants, and (3) to assure supply of quality raw material for production of quality herbal drugs and herbal supplements with high market acceptance. Identifying Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants The major part of the traditional systems of herbal medicine which includes folk health tradition has transformed into trade over a period of time. At present, the herbal health care system may be broadly differentiated into the resource, trade and consumption. Since trade is one of the important parts of this tradition, a study was commissioned to the FRLHT by NMPB for assessing the demand and supply of medicinal plants across the country. The draft report received by NMPB reveals that in 2005-06 the annual demand of botanical raw drugs was 3,19,500 MT. Of these, 1,77,000 MT was consumed by herbal industry, 86,000 MT was used in rural households and 56,500 MT was exported. A total of 960 medicinal

plant species are traded for raw drugs, in which 176 species are consumed in excess of 100 MT per year. The consolidated annual consumption of the high traded species by the domestic herbal industry accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the total industrial demand. About 78 per cent of medicinal plants are collected from the wild and 19 per cent species are cultivated. Although, many aspects of demand and supply have been covered under this study, many of the medicinal plant species are traded illegally and it is hard to come out with the precise figures of trade on such species. All the issues as mentioned earlier in this article are being dealt by the NMPB at the national level. However, for the development of the medicinal plants sector at the regional/ state level, NMPB has created the State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPBs). Thirty-five SMPBs have been constituted and more than 6,300 projects have been sanctioned under two major schemes of NMPB viz. promotional and contractual farming. The details on NMPB schemes are available at the website: www.nmpb.nic.in. Apart from funding different government and non-government organizations, the NMPB has supported schemes for developing herbal gardens in the school so that the sense of belonging may be inculcated in the young brains from the childhood on the sustainable development of medicinal plant species (Kala and Sajwan, 2006). Since many important medicinal plant species have specific ecological requirements, long gestation period, low population size, high dependency on natural pollinators, unpredictable seed germination patterns and poor seed viability, NMPB has given equal importance to the in-situ conservation of medicinal plants, and various government and non-government organizations have been supported in identifying suitable areas to meet this objective. In order to avoid the duplication in research and development, recently, the NMPB has emphasized to sanction some of the projects in the networking mode. In this regard, two major network projects have been sanctioned to the southern states of India, those have multi-institutional involvement. One of the projects is especially dealing with large scale production of Moringa citrifolia in Andaman and Nicobar Island. It is also proposed to enhance the cultivation of other rare and threatened medicinal plant species, such as, Saraca

asoka and Commiphora wightii in their distribution range through network projects. Since the Himalayan region of India is always a source of many high valued medicinal plant species, special attention has been given to the cultivation and conservation of the medicinal plant species growing at different elevations in the Himalaya. A Task Force on High Altitude Medicinal Plants has been set up in 2007 by the NMPB to boost the development of medicinal plants sector in the different Himalayan states. As proposed in the Task Force meeting, different medicinal plants valleys are being developed in different areas. To develop Atis Valley, Kut Valley and Kutaki Valley, different organizations have been supported by NMPB by providing financial support. Such projects will not only enhance the cultivation of these medicinal plant species but will also serve the purpose of their longterm conservation, livelihood options and health security to the millions of people.

References
India. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. 2006. AYUSH in India 2005. The author. Kala, C.P.; Dhyani, P.P. and Sajwan, B.S. 2006. Developing the medicinal plants sector in Northern India: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2: 1-15. Kala, C.P. and Sajwan, B.S. 2006. Herbal gardens in schools. Current Science, 91(11): 1442-1443. Kala, C.P. and Sajwan, B.S. 2007. Revitalizing Indian systems of herbal medicine by the National Medicinal Plants Board through institutional networking and capacity building. Current Science, 93: 797-806. Sajwan, B.S. and Kala, C.P. 2007. Conservation of medicinal plants: Conventional and contemporary strategies, regulations and executions. Indian Forester, 133(4): 484-495.

MEDICINAL PLANTS: GREEN GOLD FOR HUMAN HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND ENVIRONMENT
R.B.S. Rawat
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction

he influence of biosurrounding played a pivotal role in the evolution of health care system.

This was possible by observations through trials on animals, preference of plants by animals and gradually application of these plants on human beings. That is how; they developed systematic codes in their own way. The traditional systems of medicine are normally found in the countries with long history and ancient culture. With gradual development and progress, human being became more health conscious. The desire for better quality of life, led to proper and effective services for health. People started exploring more and more health care options for rejuvenation. Ancient medical manuscripts have proved that throughout human history people relied on specific natural products and plants to promote and maintain good health and to fight diseases. The current resurgence of interest in traditional medicine and plant drugs occurring world wide, particularly in the West, is not as revolutionary as it may seem. The pharmaceutical industry, for example, has long recognized the therapeutic value of plants that have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and a large proportion of the pharmaceutical drugs used today are derived from plants or their active principles. Numerous plants occurring in India have yielded drugs of major importance to modern medicine. A very small proportion of Indian medicinal plants are lower plants like lichens, ferns, algae, etc. The majority of medicinal plants are higher ones. The major families in which medicinal plants occur are Acanthaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Rosaceae and Solanaceae (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Distribution of medicinal plants by major families Drugs are derived from trees, shrubs and herbs and even from primitive kinds of plants which do not fall into the above categories (Fig. 2). They are made from fruits (senna, makoy, Datura, etc.), flowers (dhak, kachnar), leaves (senna, datura, sadabahar, anantmool, etc.), stems (mulethi, adarak, dioscorea and lahsun), roots (Costus, sarpgandha, sadabahar, ginseng, etc.), seeds (isabgol, bhed, gunja and Nux vomica) and even bark (Cinchona, and arjun) (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2. Break up of life forms in medicinal plants India is endowed with an estimated 47,000 species of plants, including about 15,000 species of wild flowering plants. Of these, approximately 5,000 species are endemic and 2,500 species, representing over 1,000 genera and 250 families, are used in traditional medicine (Jain, 1991). Indias plant richness arises from the complexity and diversity of its geological history, soils, topography and climate, which have created an exceptional variety of biomes and specialized habitats within the countrys 329 m ha land area (Kendrick, 1989). The indigenous systems of medicine practiced in India are based mainly on the use of plants. Charaka Samhita (1,000 B.C.-100 A.D.) records the use of 2,000 plant based remedies. Ancient medicine was not solely based on empiricism and this is evident from the fact that some medicinal plants, which were used in ancient times still find place in modern therapy.

Fig. 3. Part utilization in medicinal plants The Indian systems of medicine and Homoeopathy covers both the systems, which originated in India and outside but got adopted in India in course of time. These systems are Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy, Sowa-rigpa and Homoeopathy. Originating from the Vedas, Ayurveda is the oldest surviving Indian medical system, which is more than 5,000 years old. A few years ago, the WHO issued an appeal, Save Plants to Save Life. It was because of realization that to achieve the goal of Health for all there is need for a global movement for conservation of medicinal plants and revitalization of the native health traditions. The Indian systems of medicine is associated with the use of medicinal plants and herbs for human, livestock and plant health and also in textiles, perfumery and cosmetics. These millenniaold traditional systems today use across the various systems i.e. folk and codified around 8,000 species of plant and are closely depending on the availability of medicinal plants. (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Plants (species number) used in various Indian systems of medicine The features of Indian systems of medicine, namely, their diversity and flexibility, accessibility, affordability, a broad acceptance by a section of the general public, comparatively low cost, a low level of technological input and growing economic value have great potential. According to the WHO, over 80 per cent of the worlds population relies on traditional systems of medicine, largely plant based, to meet their primary healthcare needs. It is also estimated that about 500 million people in India wholly or partially rely on traditional systems for their healthcare (Anon., 2003 ). The MAPs sector plays a pivotal role in the livelihood security of the poor and marginalized families especially living in the rural areas by generating jobs and improving the Primary Health Care system. Presently, medicinal plants play a very important role in the modern economy and health. NTFPs account for 70 per cent of Indias forest product exports and the demand for phytochemicals is expected to increase in future as a new frontier for trade. There are only 880 medicinal plants that are involved in all India trade. Forty eight medicinal plants are exported to foreign countries and 42 medicinal plant species are imported. Thus, India has the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions in the use of medicinal plants (Table 1). Table 1. Medicinal plants: Species diversity and representative species of different biogeographic zones of India

Biogeographic Region Trans Himalaya

Estimated no. of medicinal plants 700

Example of typical medicinal species Ephedra geradiana Wall, Hippophae rhamnoides L., Arnebia euchroma(Royle) john Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle, Ferula jaeshkeana Vatke, andSaussurea costus(Balc). Lipsch., Nardostachys grandiflora D.C., Taxus wallichiana Zucc, Rhododendron anthopogon D.Dun, Panax pseudo ginseng Wall. Convolvulus microphyllus Seib ex Spreng., Tecomella undulata(Sm.) Seem., citrulus Colocynthis (L.), Schrader, Cressa cretica L. Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, Caesalpinia bonduc(L.) Roxb,Balanities aegyptiaca(L.), Delilie, Tribulus rajasthanensis Bhandari and Sharma Myristica malabarica Lam., Garcinia indica(Thou.) Choisy, Utleria Salicifolia Bedd, Vateria indica L. Pterocarpus santalinus L.f., Decalepis hamiltonii Wigh and Arn,Terminalia pallida Brandis, Shorea tumbuggaia Roxb. Holarrhena pubescens(Buch-Ham.) Wall. ex DC., Mallotus philippensis(Lam.) MuellArg., Pluchea lanceolata C.B. Clarke,Peganum harmala L. Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., Smilax glabra Roxb., Abroma angusta(L.) L.f., Hydnocarpus hurzii(King) Warb. calophyllum inophyllum L., Adenanthera pavonina L., Barringtonia asiatica(L.) Kurz, Aesandra butyracea(Roxb.) Baehni Rhizopora mucronata. lam, Acanthus ilicifolius L., Avicennia marinaVierth, Sonneratia caselaris(L.) Engl.

Himalaya

2,500

Desert

500

Semi-Arid

1,000

Western Ghats Deccan Peninsula

2,000

3,000

Gangetic Plain

1,000

North-East India

2,000

Islands

1,000

Coasts

500

Benefits and Challenges

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs): Experience of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme in Asia (MAPPA)

Traditional, affordable health care South Asia is home to many rich, traditional systems of medicine. Ayurvedic methods date back to 5000 B.C. Along with the Unani, Siddha and Tibetan systems, they remain an important source of everyday health and livelihood for tens of millions of people. Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), including trees, shrubs, grasses and vines, are a central resource for these traditional health systems, as well as for pharmaceutical (or allopathic) medicines. There are more than 8,000 plant species in South Asia with known medicinal uses. Medicinal plants are an accessible, affordable and culturally appropriate source of primary health care for more than 80 per cent of Asias population (WHO). Marginalized, rural and indigenous people, who can not afford or access formal health care systems, are especially dependent on these, culturally familiar, technically simple, financially affordable and generally effective traditional medicines. As such, there is widespread interest in promoting traditional health systems to meet primary health care needs. This is especially true in South Asia, as prices of modern medicines spiral and governments find it increasingly difficult to meet the cost of pharmaceutical-based health care. Throughout the region, there is strong and sustained public support for the protection and promotion of the cultural and spiritual values of traditional medicines. Widespread demand for MAPs Conservative estimates put the monetary value of MAP-related global trade at over 60 billion USD (Govt. of India, 2000; Nagpal and Karki, 2004). With increasing popular demand for medicinal plants, both in South Asia and internationally, this trade is expected to grow to 5 trillion by the year 2050 (FRLHT, 1996). Besides health benefits, MAPs also provide crucial livelihood options for millions of rural people in South Asia, particularly women, tribal peoples, and the very poor. India is the centre of South Asias export trade in medicinal plants, and in this country alone, it is estimated that the collection and processing of medicinal plants contributes to at least 35 million workdays of employment a year. Unfortunately, while demand rises, inequitable trade practices have meant that only a small margin of the profits from MAPs trickle down to the collectors and harvesters. Highly developed illegal trading networks in Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Myanmar control the raw MAPs trade, through lax border controls. Despite this, no regional collaboration in implementing international covenants relating to biodiversity exists to stem this growing illegal market. Impacts of commercialization The expansion of unregulated trade and commercial use of MAPs poses a major threat to biodiversity in the region. Local communities tend to collect the highest value or most popular plant species, leading to over-harvesting and species extinction. Even when MAP species are safely cultivated, if done with mono-cropping systems, local biodiversity can be weakened. Finally, as 95 per cent of MAPs are harvested and collected in wild, the alarming levels of deforestation and ecosystem degradation in the region are also contributing to a decline in MAPs. Combined, all of these factors have severely reduced the availability of medicinal plant ingredients and the overall environmental sustainability of the region. Along with the deterioration of resources, the cultural heritage surrounding MAP use is being eroded. Unstandardized expertise and knowledge of traditional systems of medicine, as well as inadequate processing and storage facilities, can result in ineffective or unsafe treatments. The

absence of institutional support, appropriate validation systems and quality control protocol for indigenous health practices threaten valuable MAP knowledge and use practices, as well as public health. ICIMODs strategy in the sector The Himalayan range, popularly known as the Hindu Kush-Himalaya, is one of the worlds richest ecosystems in terms of biodiversity (Bhattarai and Karki, 2004). This is due to the extreme altitudinal variations with concurrent changes in temperature and precipitation and differences in soil conditions, which have combined to create striking vertical zones in the natural vegetation. No other part of the world is vertically and horizontally as diverse as the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain ranges. Rising from the plains of the Indian sub-continent to the highest peaks of the world, altitudinal sequences determine a great variety of natural ecosystems. And the rainfall patterns vary from the very arid zones of Afghanistan in the west to zones with extremely humid conditions in the east. The range covers a length of about 3,500 km stretching from Afghanistan through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Yunan in China to Bangladesh and Myanmar, and provides a home and protection to more than 12,500 species of higher plants (Dobremez, 1996) and between 7,0007,500 species of medicinal plants (Shengji, 1998, 2005). The region is also the home to 150 million people who depend on its immense natural resources for their livelihood. The livelihood of the majority of the people of the HKH depends primarily on subsistence agriculture and natural resources. Mountain households are neither able to generate economic surplus from subsistence activities nor are they able to find stable off-farm employment opportunities. Unless employment and income opportunities are developed locally, the traditional reliance on subsistence activities are unlikely to alleviate the chronic and growing poverty in the mountain areas. Himalayan medicinal plant resources in health and livelihoods There are 120 pure chemical substances extracted from 90 species of higher plants that are used as prescription drugs in modern medicine or allopathy throughout the world (Bhattarai and Karki, 2004a). Many of these plants are indigenous to the Himalayan region., viz. Aconitum spp., Colchicum autumnale, Podophyllum hexandrum, Datura stramonium, Hyoscymus niger, Mucuna pruriens,Picrorhiza spp., Swertia chirata,Taxus wallichiana, etc., to mention a few. The demand for these resources has been continuously increasing, providing broader opportunities for the medicinal plant-based economic development. In addition, herbal medicine is becoming even more popular in rich countries, where the demand is being fueled by an outburst of consumer interest in natural products. Wild plant resources have always been the major component of the life supporting systems including access to health care and livelihood options for majority of the Himalayan rural communities. The adjoining forests, pastures and other medicinal plant habitats have long been fulfilling the major part of their health care and livelihood needs. The rural poor and marginalized communities earn their livelihood from the medicinal plants sector in three ways: in terms of earning cash income through sale of MAP raw materials;

 in terms of earning cash income through sale of MAP raw materials; as a component of biodiversity to maintain ecological balance. The economic assistance provided by the forest resources to the rural households in the region and their linkages with the conservation and sustainability norms have seldom been calculated in the monetary terms or in the conservation and management contexts. However, Browder (1992) and Godoy (1993) have cited many examples, based on their studies in South America, of nontimber forest products used primarily by local communities that are also depleted by unsustainable extraction. The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme in Asia (MAPPA) was launched in 1998 by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), New Delhi, India and later devolved to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal in August, 2005. MAPPA has a vision to develop, provide, and promote wise practices in the MAP sector by safeguarding the ecosystem for the poor and marginalized people in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan and South Asian regions. Its goals are to generate MAP-based additional income and employment opportunities for improvement in the quality of life of people in fragile uplands of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region on sustainable basis. MAPPA is on a mission to develop, provide, and promote appropriate wise practices, critical information, sound technologies, ethical trade and enterprise activities, appropriate conservation and development solutions and proper institutionalization to benefit women, poor, indigenous people and the environment. The MAPPA-ICIMOD through strategic research, collaboration and networking, plan to develop strategies, methods and options for sustainable conservation and use of MAP resources. The research program covers three principal themes: i. conservation of biodiversity through sustainable use; ii. expansion of livelihood opportunities; and iii. safe and effective traditional medicine system for primary health care. Identified research areas include locally viable conservation methods, sustainable and equitable commercialization strategies and technologies and improved options for safe and effective health care systems. Research activities will strive to complement and build on on-going research work to more comprehensively address research problems, generate more effective research results, and accomplish greater impacts. IDRC-MAPPA in collaboration with WWF-India, organized an Expert Consultation on Medicinal Plants Species Prioritization for South Asia in September. 1997 in New Delhi, India. The participants included researchers and experts from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The objective was to examine key issues facing the medicinal plant sector in south Asia, focusing on the rationale and need for selecting general criteria for the prioritization of medicinal and aromatic plant species used for livelihood support and primary health care from a

regional perspective. A list of thirty priority species for South Asia was selected by the participating experts, which is given below in Table 2. Table 2. List of prioritized medicinal plant species for South Asia S.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Plant species Aconitum ferox Aconitum heterophyllum Aconitum spicatum Alpinia galanga Andrographis paniculata Asparagus racemosus Azadirachta indica Bacopa monnieri Berberis aristata Bunium persicum Centella asiatica Commiphora wightii Coscinium fenestratum Dendrobium longicornu Evolvulus alsinoides Gmelina arborea Gymnema sylvestre Nardostachys grandiflora Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora Oroxylum indicum Panax pseudo-ginseng Phyllanthus amarus Podophyllum hexandrum Rheum australe Saraca asoca Saussurea costus Swertia chirayita Terminalia arjuna Tinospora sinensis Valeriana jatamansii Family Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae Zingiberaceae Acanthaceae Liliaceae Meliaceae Scrophulariaceae Berberidaceae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae Burseraceae Menispermaceae Orchidaceae Convolvulaceae Verbenaceae Asclepiadaceae Valerianaceae Scrophulariaceae Bignoniaceae Araliaceae Euphorbiaceae Berberidaceae Ploygonaceae Caesalpiniaceae Asteraceae Gentianaceae Combertaceae Menispermaceae Valerianaceae

Different institutions including national governments, universities, research institutes and NGOs are actively involved in the process of resource mobilization and innovations. Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) has been proposed to be a viable option to diversify farming practices to produce quality MAPs while conserving them in wild. Although a number of institutions have developed cultivation technologies for many species of MAPs, about 90 per cent of the harvests are still coming from the wild. It has been observed that research efforts are primarily science driven but activities are carried out on-station and experience of communities is not fully capitalized. The linkages between researchers and extensions workers seem either very weak or non-existent. As a result, the diffusion of developed technologies has been extremely limited. Unless buy back arrangements and other incentives are provided to the farmers, cultivation will continue to be a dream for many years to come. At the same time, markets for herbal products are becoming extremely quality conscious. Therefore, need to incorporate quality standards at each level in the production and consumption chain adhering to Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) norms is necessary. The challenge lies for different stakeholders in the entire chain to conform to mandatory and voluntary specifications to produce standardized drugs and other herbal products.

Conclusion
In South Asia, the traditional and modern medical systems have always co-existed. However, the traditional systems are frequently labeled as merely alternative or complementary, when, at least from the Indian perspective, the reverse is the reality, i.e. conventional medicine is complimentary to local health systems. Therefore, one of the key tasks, in this era of globalization and international trade, is to assure respect of local values and needs which in this context refers to the traditional and often cross-cultural health systems. It is the duty of not only the government and the NGOs, but also the medical service industry to see that there exists an integrated holistic healthcare system so as to offer the best care for the people. It can be possible by assisting conservation, supporting sustainable production, processing and supply of MPs, with attention on regional socio-economic growth for small farmers and quality assurance in equitable manner The sector may further be improved in collaboration with community-based organizations and public private partnership. Dissemination of information and effective networking among all types of stakeholders are crucial factors to be considered with priority. Poverty eradication and the reversal of environment degradation are two of the greatest globalchallenges. The challenges are inextricably linked and are reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in 2002, reaffirmed the MDGs and clearly established the link between poverty and ecosystem management. As a result, national, regional and international development policies are increasingly becoming aligned towards ensuring that efforts and assistance target both these goals. MDGs relevant to the trade in NWFP are: Goal 1: To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

 Goal 7: To ensure environmental sustainability. Targets: integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Goal 8: To develop a global partnership for development. Targets: develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction, nationally and internationally; address the least developed countries. special needs and the special needs of landlocked and small island developing states. In the broader sense, medicinal plants can also contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) through more general impacts associated with their economic value. Especially for people at the bottom of economic ladder, medicinal plants represent a new economic opportunity with the potential to find a adequate standard of living and help disadvantaged people break free of the poverty trap. The ways in which the wise use of medicinal plants can contribute to specific goals of the MDG are improving general health, empowering women and disadvantaged groups, and reversing the loss of environmental resources.

References
de Silva, T. 1997. Industrial utilization of medicinal plants in developing countries. In: NonWood forests products. Rome, FAO. Rome. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. 2007. Trade measures-tols to promote the sustainable use of NWFPs. Rome, FAO. Rawat, R.B.S. and Uniyal, R.C. 2004. Status of medicinal and aromatic plant sector in Uttaranchal: Initiatives taken by the Government of India. Financing Agriculture, 36(3): 7-13. Ved, D.K.; Anjana, Mudappa and Shankar Darshan. 2001. Regulating export of endangered medicinal plant species need for scientific nigour. Current Science. 75(4): 341-344. World Health Organisation. 2003. WHO guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants. Geneva, WHO.

CALENDAR OF MEETINGS
Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants http://ayurvedicmedicinalplants.com/ A complete and most informative site regarding ayurvedic medicinal plants with high quality photographs, descriptions about the plants, their active principles, medicinal plants morphology, their therapeutic properties, the Ayurvedic principle behind the selection of a plant as a

medicine. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/med-aro/toc.html Medicinal and Aromatic Plant home page, sponsored by the Center for New Crops and Plant Products. The guide to medicinal and aromatic plants has several main components: Aromatic, spice and medicinal plants *plant/crop descriptors, seed and plant sources and archive of online research database of citations, pesticide registrations and other sources of information. WHOs Activities on Medicinal Plants http://www.who.int/topics/plants_medicinal/en/ This page provides links to descriptions of activities, reports, news and events, as well as contacts and cooperating partners in the various WHO programmes and offices working on medicinal plants. Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/ This online encyclopedia of Indian medicinal plants lists the information available with Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions on each medicinal plant species such as number of vernacular names, distribution data, trade, propagation, agro-technique, seed storage, eco-distribution maps, pharmacology and pharmacognosy, and digital images. The website provides details of around 7,361 medicinal plant species and has 6,734 plant images. Thumb images of the species are provided for easy understanding of the species. Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants http://www.cimap.res.in/ Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) is a multi-disciplinary multi locational R & D institute dedicated to the cause of medicinal and aromatic plant research, cultivation and business. CIMAP has its foot prints in different agro-climatic zones of India in the form of its resource centers (CRC) and resource points (CRP). Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences (JMAPS) http://www.cimap.res.in/publication_jmaps.html JMAPS is a quarterly journal of composite nature. The journal includes: Research articles, review articles, trade/commercial articles, export/import statistics, national/international prices, symposia/seminar reports, new varieties/cultivars released, patent and intellectual property rights related issues, current references on medicinal and aromatic plants.

ENVIRONMENTAL UPS and DOWNS

Environmental Ups
T he IPCC headed by Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI has been jointly awarded 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace alongwith Al Gore, Ex-Vice President of the USA. This marks global recognition of the vision, leadership and zeal of Dr. Pachauri and his team to lay the foundation for measures to counteract effects of climate change.

The Haryana Community Forestry Project, supported by the European Union has set in a unique example of participatory project for growing more trees, has transformed the life of many villagers living on the fringes of forest areas in Haryana.

Uttar Pradesh Forest Department with the help from people from all walks of life has made plans to plant one crore saplings in the state during the current year.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has proposed a recovery plan for several endangered species, including the snow leopard, the great Indian bustard and the hangul, and creation of more marine protected areas.

A survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India across 200 sq km of the Corbett National Park reserve yielded a count of 74 tigers - quite a high number for that small an area.

Negotiators for 158 countries at the UN Climate Conference reached basic agreement that industrialized countries should strive to cut emissions by 25 to 40 per cent of their 1990 level by 2020.

With the number of man-made objects increasing in outer space and posing major safety and environmental concerns, India has proposed an international arrangement on the lines of the Kyoto Protocol to limit damage to the outer space and protect satellites orbating the Earth.

For the first time in seven years, the Supreme Court of India has permitted a host of construction activities for socioeconomic purposes in forest areas that were made impregnable on its orders to protect the dwindling green cover.

To allow the tiger to live without human interference in the wild, the Government of India has agreed to relocate over 40,000 families at a whopping cost of Rs. 4,874 crore, in the biggest ever save tiger package.

At least 20 tigers have resurfaced in a tropical rain forest in Maharashtra, almost three decades after it was thought that poaching had wiped them out there.

East Asian leaders signed a declaration pledging to take actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment was all the more significant as it was signed by China and India, which have long resisted calls to join in efforts to tackle the problem.

The US and EU have jointly proposed priority action on climate change and energy related technologies as part of the Doha Round negotiations on the use of environmental goods and services. They have proposed a new environmental goods and services agreement (EGSA) at WTO that seeks the removal of technical barriers to trade in a specific set of climatefriendly technologies with a higher level of commitment to the green cause.

The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a bill to cut US emissions of greenhouse gases by 70 per cent by 2050 from electric power plants, manufacturing and transportation.

The Government of India has set itself an ambitious target of ensuring that no sewage is drained into the 45,000 km river length of India by 2011-12.

The Government of India plans to increase forest and tree cover over the next five years by five per cent.

After various means of eradication and control of the noxious weed<="" i=""> failed in the country the scientists of Forest Research Institute at Dehradun have finally evolved a high value end use of it in the form of handmade paper, particle and fibreboards.

There is a good news for conservationists. The bird and pheasant population in the Uttarakhand Himalayas scenic spot Munsyari has witnessed a drastic increase in recent years, say birdwatchers and the people inhabiting that remote high altitude region.

To contain growing air pollution in Delhi, it has been decided to introduce vehicles using hydrogen as fuel in place of petrol and diesel by the year 2010.

The Government of India has instituted National Water Award and Bhoomijal Samvardhan Puraskar with the objective of encouraging non-governmental organisations, gram panchayats, urban local bodies for adopting innovative practices of groundwater augmentation through rain water harvesting and artificial recharge with peoples participation ensuring sustainability of groundwater resources and development of adequate capacity among the stakeholders.

Environmental Downs

Scores of countries are overpumping aquifers as they struggle to satisfy their growing water needs, including each of the big three grain producers viz. China, India and the US. More than half the worlds people live in countries where water tables are falling.

Global warmings effect on wind patterns and sea temperatures have nearly doubled the number of hurricanes a year in the Atlantic ocean over the past century, says a new study by US scientists.

About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, according to a World Bank report

A paper published by researchers from IIT Delhi and Jamia Milia Islamia recently in Current Science claimed that the government had overestimated the utilizable water resources of the country by up to 88 per cent and India had breached its water security levels way back in 1997-98 by over exploiting the resources.

William Cline, a senior fellow at the Centre for Global Development studied closely the impact of global warming on agricultural productivity, and concluded that the developing countries like India and most of Africa and Latin America would suffer an average 10-25 per cent decline in agricultural productivity by 2080s.

The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Topics (ICRISAT) has cautioned

India against the possible impact of climate change which is likely to jeopardise the livelihood of about 25.93 per cent of the one billion worlds poor living in India.

Rising global temperatures caused by climate change could trigger a huge extinction of plants and animals says a team of scientists at the University of York and the University of Leads.

Sumatran elephants this year have witnessed a decrease in their population by 35 per cent when compared with the figure in 1992, when there were 5,000 heads, said WWFIndonesia.

The Asian Development Bank recently reported that the developing countries in Asia could face an unprecedented water crisis due to mismanagement of water resources.

According to Greenpeace India Society more than 800 million people in India are bearing the burnt of climate change, partly due to the emissions caused by the few privileged rich people in the country.

The Centre for Global Development, Washington D.C. revealed that NTPC Power Plants were third biggest emitter of CO2 in the world.

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong have found that extreme cold weather in the past centuries has coincided with wars, population collapse and economic crises. Prof. David Zhang and researcher Harry Lee argued that global warming could have similar catastrophic effects on the worlds population, triggering wars and social upheaval.

India, with a coastline of about 7,500 km, risks losing a significant number of lives and assets worth $ 3.85 trillion due to coastal flooding that may occur as a result of climate change by 2070, says a global study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD).

The global trend of soaring divorce rates has created more household with fewer people, has taken up more space and has gobbled up more energy and water, according to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and United Nation Environment Programme have found that the air around Delhi has carcinogenic pollutants like endosulfans caused by indiscriminate use of pesticides by rich farmers.

MEDICINAL PLANT RESOURCES OF MEGHALAYA: ENDEMISM, THREAT STATUS AND CONSUMPTION PATTERN
S.K. Barik, K. Haridasan* and N.J. Lakadong
Department of Botany, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793 022

Introduction

he use of various plant parts to cure specific ailments by different ethnic groups around the

world is in vogue since time immemorial. The world is endowed with a rich wealth of medicinal plants. Of the total 297,000510,000 (Schippmann et al., 2002) plant species in the world, 70,000 (10-18 per cent) are estimated to be employed in healthcare (Prajapati et al., 2003). In India, of the total 17,500 native plant species, 6,000 (34.3 per cent) are known to have medicinal importance (Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, 2007). The Himalayas including Northeast India harbour about 8,000 plant species of which 2,500 (21.3 per cent) have been reported to have important medicinal properties (Trivedi, 2002). Meghalaya is inhabited by the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos, who have a tradition of practising indigenous medicine system. Of the total 3,331 plant species found in the state (Khan et al., 1997), 834 (31.3 per cent) are estimated to be employed in healthcare (Lakadong and Barik, 2006). The sources of these medicinal plant species could be cultivated plants from homesteads, farm lands, cultivation fields or wild plants from forest lands. The plant parts used could be leaves, fruits, roots or stems and most of these are collected fresh and used. Sometimes the plant parts are collected and stored for future use, particularly when the plant in question is not available. Meghalaya has a number of tribal village doctors addressing the health care issues in the state, particularly in remote villages. Usually they collect the medicinal plants from their known localities. A few of the folk healers have started cultivating them in their herbal gardens while, some medicinal plants are bought from the markets. Over-exploitation by the local people has pushed many of the medicinal plants into threatened categories. Of the 17,500 plant species present in India, about 5,725 are broadly considered as endemics, i.e. species that are restricted to a particular geographical region or ecological unit.

These represent 32.7 per cent of the countrys flora. Based on the distribution of endemics on the earths surface, and threats to their habitats, hotspots have been identified globally. Of the total 34 hotspots in the world (Mittermeier et al., 2004), India harbours three viz. Western Ghats, Himalayas and Indo-Burma. The Himalayas including Northeast India harbour 3,200 (40 per cent) endemic plant species (Dhar, 2002). Meghalaya is home to 239 (31.3 per cent) endemic plant species (Lakadong and Barik, 2006). Besides, endemism it is estimated that about 3,000 species of flowering plants fall in one or the other category of threatened plants, which also include several medicinal plants. The Red Data Books (Jain and Shastry, 1984; Nayar and Shastry, 1988, 1989, 1990) have listed 623 plant species, of which 550 are endemic that include some valuable medicinal plants. Some of the studies on medicinal plants of Meghalaya are those by Upadhaya et al. (2005), Joseph and Kharkongor (1981), Kumar et al. (1980), Kumar et al. (1987), Prabhu (2004), Rao (1981a and b), Rao and Neogi (1980), Rao and Shanpru (1981), Tripathi and Goel (2001), etc. conducted during the last three decades mostly to document the ethnobotanical values and taxonomic aspects of the species. However, there is no comprehensive study so far available for medicinal plants of Meghalaya analyzing the endemism, species distribution pattern, threat status, availability and quantity consumed. The present study aims to bridge this information gap by providing vital data on medicinal plants of Meghalaya. Based on the empirical data collected, strategies for cultivation of medicinal plants in the state have been suggested.

Study Site
The study was conducted in the state of Meghalaya, which is characterized by wide variations in topography and elevation. The altitude ranges from 90 to 2,000 m a.s.l. and the climate shows wide variation depending on the altitude. The total geographical area of the state is 22,549 km2 and the state lies between 25047 and 20010 N latitude and 89045 and 92047 E longitude.

Methods
A list of medicinal plant species present in Meghalaya was prepared consulting published and unpublished literature as well as by collecting primary data. The primary data was collected from different parts of the state by conducting extensive field surveys in different seasons during the years 2003-07. A list of endemic medicinal plants was prepared by reviewing the available literature (Nayar and Shastry, 1988, 1989, 1990, Haridasan and Rao, 1985-87; Balakrishnan, 1981-83; Joseph, 1980; Kanjilal et al., 1934-40). The distribution of these endemic medicinal plant species was mapped based on the results of the field survey. Field visits were made during the active growth season of the species. Geographical positioning system (GPS) was used to record the exact location of occurrence of the species such as altitude, latitude and longitude. Ethnomedicinal uses, availability and consumption of medicinal plants in the state were studied in 25 villages spreading over the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills of the state. The data so generated was extrapolated for the entire state by taking into consideration the number of villages in each

region and the consumption pattern in the respective region.

Results
Habit Of the total of 834 medicinal plant species, 266 (32 per cent) were herbs, 264 (32 per cent) trees, 177 (21 per cent) shrubs, 93 (11 per cent) lianas and climbers, and 34 (4 per cent) were undershrub (Fig. 1). These species were distributed under 548 genera and 166 families. The family with the highest number of medicinal plant species was Rubiaceae (27 genera and 40 species) followed by Asteraceae (27 genera and 36 species) and Fabaceae (22 genera and 29 species; Fig. 2).

Fig. 1. Habit of medicinal plant species of Meghalaya

Fig. 2. Dominant medicinal plant families with number of genera and species in Meghalaya Endemics Thirty seven medicinal plant species (4.4 per cent of the total medicinal plant species) endemic either to Eastern Himalayas or Northeast India or Meghalaya were reported. These species belonged to 32 genera and 29 families. Sixteen (42 per cent) of them were trees, 10 (27 per cent) were herbs, five (14 per cent) were shrubs, five (14 per cent) were lianas and climbers and one (3 per cent) was undershrub (Table 1). Medicinal Properties of Endemics Seventeen (19 per cent) species are used for fever, bodyache, weakness and vomiting, 10 (27 per cent) for gastrointestinal problems and 10 (27 per cent) for gynaecological problems. Five endemic species are used for fever, four species for stomachache and three species each for dysentery and diarrhoea. Three species are used as antidote for snake bite and three are used for diuresis. Distribution of Endemics The maximum number of endemics was found in low and mid-altitude zones ranging from 100 to 1,600m a.s.l. whereas, only a few of them were restricted to high altitudes i.e. above 1,600 m a.s.l. (Table 2). Twenty four species were restricted to altitudes ranging from 800 to1,600 m a.s.l., 20 were found in altitudes ranging from 400 to 800 m a.s.l. and 15 were restricted to altitudes ranging from 100 to 400 m a.s.l. Only six species were restricted to an altitudinal range of 1,600 to 2,000 m a.s.l. Of the 37 species, 26 species were restricted to Northeast India while 11 were restricted only to Meghalaya.

Concentration of Endemic Medicinal Plant Species High concentration of endemic medicinal plant species was found in Nokrek (37.8 per cent) followed by Jowai (35.1 per cent) and Raliang (32.4 per cent; Table 3). Threat Status of Medicinal Plant Species Of the 834 medicinal plant species, 116 were either threatened or endemic, or both constituting about 13.8 per cent of the total medicinal flora (Table 4). These belonged to 96 genera and 67 families, and 43 per cent of these were trees, 32 per cent were herbs, 16 per cent were shrubs, 8 per cent were lianas and climbers and 1 per cent was undershrubs. Consumption Pattern of Medicinal Plants Used Under Traditional Healing Systems Although the consumption data on medicinal plants provided in Table 5 has limitation due to small sample size, it does indicate the pattern of consumption of various medicinal plants in the state. Oroxylum indicum (21,931 kg/yr), Centella asiatica (25,685 kg/yr), Emblica officinalis (20,801 kg/yr), Table 1. Ethnomedicinal information on 37 endemic medicinal plant species found in Meghalaya Species Aeschynanthus superba Cl. Boehmeria macrophylla D.Don Calamus erectus Robx. Calamus floribundusGriff. Camellia caducaCl. ex Brandis Family Gesneriaceae Urticaceae Arecaceae Arecaceae Theaceae Habit Under shurb Tree Shurb Climber Tree atree Tree Shurb Part used Ailment Bark Root Seed, Root Root Root Leave, Bark, Flower Fruit, Leave Fracture, muscular sprain Eczema, wounds Indigestion, stomach ache, malaria, body ache Weakness Skin+ Headache, sunstroke, laxative, urinary tract infection

Citrus aurantium L. Rutaceae Citrus latipes Tanaka Citrus medica L. Rutaceae Rutaceae

Cocculus orbiculatus DC.

Menispermaceae Shrub

Body ache, vomiting, cold, fever Laxative, colic, flatulence, Root, Fruit renel and vesical calculi, tumours dysmenorrhagia Anodyne, antiphlogistic, carminative, diuretic, Root, Stem vermifuge, rhoedema, oliguria, antibacterial, anti-amoebic activity, asthma

Curcuma Zingiberaceae Herb montana Roxb. Cymbidium Orchidaceae Epiphyte aloifolium Sw. Daphniphyllum himalenseMuell. Daphniphyllaceae Tree Arg. Eleaegnus Eleaegnaceae Shrub conferta Roxb. Erythroxylum kunthianum Wall. ex Erythroxylaceae Tree Kurz. Euonymus Celastraceae Tree lawsonii Cl. and Pr. Garcinia Clusiaceae Tree cowa Roxb. ex DC. Garcinia Clusiaceae Tree pedunculata G. Don Goniothalamus simonosii Hk.f. and Anonaceae Tree Th. Grewia hirsuta Vahl. Tiliaceae Shrub Hedera Araliaceae Climber nepalensis K. Koch Hymenodictyon Rubiaceae Tree excelsum Wall. Ilex embeloides Hk.f. Aquifoliaceae Tree Impatiens Balsaminaceae Herb tripetala Roxb. Mahonia Berberidaceae Tree pycnophylla Takeda Munronia Under Meliaceae pinnata Harms. shrub Nepenthes khasiana Nepenthaceae Hk.f. Ochna squarrosa Planet Ophiorhiza subcapitata Wall. Osbeckia capitata Ochnaceae Rubiaceae Shrub Tree Climber

Rhizome Bulb Stem Flower, Fruit Bark Bark Fruit Fruit Fruit

Jaundice, increase lactation, body swellings Blood coagulant for large bleeding wounds Biols Sores, ulcers Stimulant Syphilis, indigestion, liver disorder Dysentery Urinary troubles Throat irritation

Fruit, Root Diarrhoea, dysentery, wounds Whole Antiseptic plant Bark Astringent, febrifuge

Bark, Root Cold, cough, tuberculosis Root Leave, Bark Root Haematic Eye disease

Melastomataceae Herb

Stomach chaevomiting, loose motion Urinary troubles, stomach Pitcher disorders, night blindness, skin disease Leave, Snake bite, menstrual Root, Bark complaints, asthma emollient Root, Fever, sore throat, tonsils, Leave facial blemishes Whole Snake bite, muscle swellings

Benth. Paramignya micrantha Kurth. Piper griffithi C. DC. Piper peepuloides Roxb. Polygonum bistorta L. Raphidophora decursiva Schott. Schima khasiana Dyer. Sophora acuminata Baker Xylosma longifolium Clos.

plant Rutaceae Piperaceae Piperaceae Polygonaceae Araceae Theaceae Fabaceae Flacourtiaceae Shrub Climber Under shrub Herb Climber Tree Shrub Tree Root Diuretic

Leave, Stomach troubles, diarrhoea, Stem, Fruit dysentery Leave, Fever, paralysis Bark Diarrhoea, anteritis, bleeding Rhizome hamorrhoids, gingivitis, febrift Rhizome Leave, Bark Bark Bark Snake bite Stomach ache, allergies Pregnancy (purification of blood before and after delivery) Stomach ache

Table 2. Distribution of the 37 endemic medicinal plant species found in Meghalaya Species Aeshynanthus superba Cl. Boehmeria macrophyllaD.Don Calamus erectus Roxb. Calamus floribundus Griff. Camellia caduca Brandis Citrus aurantium L. Altitude 800-1,500 100-1,000 100-1,000 100-1,000 Distri bution Jowai, Raliang, Laskein, Mynso, NE India Sohkha Nokrek, Jowai, SyndaiSub-Tropical Himalayas Muktapur Lailad, Trongpleng, Syndai, Sikkim, NE India Sohkha-Dawki NE India Syndai, Rytiang, Sohkha-Dawki Jowai, Mawsynram, Ialong, Mawsmai, Mawphlang

1,000-1,600 Meghalaya

100-500

Citrus medica L.

500-1,200

Dehradun, Garhwal, Kumaon, Sikkim, Manipur, Nokrek Montane forests of peninsular India Kumaon, Pachmarhi, Sikkim, Chittagong, Upper YanYanzalin Valley, Nokrek, Umjaisaw-Mynsyngat Satpura hills, Western Ghats

Citrus 500-1,500 latipes Tanaka Cocculus mollis Hk.f. and 1,000-1,500 Th. Curcuma 1,000-1,300 montana Roxb. Cymbidium 100-700 aloifoliumSw. Daphniphyllum 1,500-1,800 himalenseMuell. Eleaegnus 300-1,500 conferta Roxb. Erythroxylum kunthianumWall.ex 1,000-2,000 Kurz. Euonymus lawsonii Cl. and 1,200-1,600 Prain. Garcinia cowa Roxb. ex 100-1,500 DC> Garcinia 100-1,000 pedunculataG.Don Goniothamus simonsiiHk.f. and 200-1,500 Th. Grewia 100-300 hirsuta Vahl.

Meghalaya Nepal NE India, Konkan Burma, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, Sri-Lanka, India Temperate HimalayasBurma Indo-Malaya, Himalayas, South India Inda-Burma, NE India

Nokrek, Umjaisaw-Mynsyngat, Ialong, Raliang Cherrapunjee, Jowai, Shillong, Jarain Nartiang Umsning, Nongpoh, Burnihat Ummulong, Thadlaskein, Jowai, Shillong Nokrek, Tura, Balphakram, Shillong Ialong, Raliang, Swer, Nokrek, Mawphlang, Jarain, Jowai Nokrek, Raliang, Shillong

Meghalaya

Indo-Malaya, NE India Indo-Burma, NE India Meghalaya India, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma

Nokrek, Bagmara Sohkha Nongkhyllem, Borlong, Mawsmai, Nokrek, Balphakram Balphakram Ialong, Raliang, Swer, Nongkrem, Shillong, Sohra-rim, Jowai Nongpoh Raliang, Dawki Balphakram, Dawki Ialong, Jarain, Sohra-rim, Elephant falls Balphakram, Maheskola, Tura, Raliang

Hedera 1,200-1,600 Himalayas nepalensisK.Koch. Hymenodictyon 500-700 excelsumWall. Hex 100-1,200 embeloides Hk.f. Impatiens 100-800 tripetala DC. Mahonia 1,000-1,800 pycnophyllaTakeda Munronia 100-1,700 pinnata Harms. Indo-Malaya Meghalaya NE India Indo-Burma, Eastern Himalayas, Nilgiris Eastern Himalayas, NE India, Nilgiris

Nepenthes khasiana Hk.f.

1,200-1,500 Meghalaya Burma, Andamans, Khasi hills

Lawbah, Pongtung, Pynursla, Mynkre, Nonghulew, Amlarem, Longrein, Jarain, Sutnga, Maheskola, Tura, Bagmara Rongrengiri Jowai Jarain, Amlarem, Sutnga, Pynursla, Jowai, Ummulong, Pongtung, Bapung, Sohra-rim, Khliehriat, Mawphlang, Swer, Shillong, Umsaw, Nongstoin, Nongkrem, Mawsmai, Mawsynram Nokrek, Raliang Raliang, Ialong, Nokrek, Sohkha, Mawsmai, Nongkhyllem Raliang, Nokrek, Nongkhyllem Sutnga, Jarain, Bapung, Ummulong, Jowai, Mawsmai, Mawphlang, Pongtung, Shillong, Amlarem, Sohra-rim, Swer Ialong, Raliang, Nokrek, JowaiJarain Shillong, Jowai, Sohra-rim, Pongtung, Mawphlang, Raliang Mawsmai, Sutnga Jowai

Ochna sqarrosa L. 400-600 Ophiorhiza subcapitataWall.

1,200-1,600 Meghalaya (Jaintia hills)

Osbeckia capitata Benth.

700-1,800

Meghalaya

Paramignya micranthaKurz. Piper griffithii C.DC.

1,000-1,500 Meghalaya 200-1,500 NE India Tropical Himalayas, NE India, Bangladesh, Nepal

Piper 200-1,500 peepuloides Roxb. Polygonum bistorta L. Raphidophora decursiva Schima khasiana Dyer. Sophora acuminata Baker Xylosma controversumClos.

700-1,600

Meghalaya

1,000-1,500 Sikkim Himalayas 1,200-1,800 Meghalaya 800-1,300 Eastern Himalayas, Bangladesh, Burma

1,000-1,500 Meghalaya

Table 3. Concentration of endemics at different locations in Meghalaya Number of endemic medicinal plant species

Site

Concentration (%)

Nokrek Jowai Raliang Shillong Ialong Jarain Balphakram Mawsmai Mawphlang Pongtung Sohra-rim Sokha

14 13 12 9 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 5

37.8 35.1 32.4 24.3 18.9 18.9 16.2 16.2 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5

Table 4. Threat status of medicinal plant species found in Meghalaya Species Acanthus leucostachys Roxb. Acorus calamus L. Aeschynanthus superba Cl. Aquilaria agallocha Roxb. Ardisia odontophylla DC. Aristolochia cathcartii Hk.f. Aristolochia saccata Wall. Artocarpus gomenzianus Wall. ex Trewl. Bergenia ciliata Sternb. Boehmeria macrophylla D. Don Brucea mollis Wall.ex.Kurz. Butea monosperma Taub. Calamus erectus Roxb. Calamus floribundus Griff. Camellia caduca Brandis Cardamine impatiens L. Caryota urens L. Cephalotaxus mannii Hk.f. Cibotium barometz Link. Cinnamomum tamala Nees. and Habit Herb Herb Epiphyte Tree Shrub Climber Liana Tree Herb Tree Shrub Tree Shrub Climber Tree Herb Tree Tree Shrub Tree Status Endemic and rare Vulnerable Endemic Endangered Rare Rare Rare Rare Vulnerable Endemic Rare Vulnerable Endemic and rare Endemic Endemic Rare Rare Vulnerable Vulnerable Vulnerable

Eberm. Citrus aurantium L. Tree Citrus latipes Tanaka Tree Citrus medica L. Shrub Clerodendrum colebrookianum Walp. Shrub Clerodendrum hastatum Lindl. Shrub Clerodendrum serratum Moon Shrub Cocculus mollis Hk.f. and Th. Shrub Codonopsis javanica Hk.f. Climber Coldenia procumbens L. Herb Cordia dichotoma Forst.f. Tree Cordia fragrantissima Kurz. Tree Corylopsis himalayana Griff. Shrub Cretaeva nurvala Buch. - Ham. Tree Croton tiglium L. Tree Curcuma angustifolia Roxb. Herb Curcuma montana Roxb. Herb Cymbidium aloifolium Sw. Epiphyte Cymbidium longifolium D. Don Epiphyte Dalhousiea bracteata Grah. Shrub Daphniphyllum himalense Muell. Tree Arg. Dendrobium densiflorum Wall. Epiphyte Dendrobium macraei Lindl. Epiphyte Dendrobium moschatum Sw. Epiphyte Dendrobium nobile Lindl. Epiphyte Diospyros pilosula Hiren. Tree Drosera peltata Sm. Herb Elaegnus conferta Roxb. Shrub ssp. dendroidea Servettaz Erythroxylum kunthianum Wall. ex Tree Kurz. Euonymus lawsonii Cl. and Prain. Tree Ficus microcarpa L.f. Tree Ficus sub-incisa Buch.-Ham. ex J.E. Shrub Sm. Fraxinus floribunda Wall. Tree

Endemic and rare Endemic and rare Endemic Vulnerable Endemic Vulnerable Endemic Data deficient Rare Very rare Very rare Vulnerable Extremely rare Rare Near threatened Endemic and rare Endemic Indeterminate Rare Endangered and endemic Rare Vulnerable Indeterminate Endangered Extremely rare Rare Endemic and endangered Endemic Endemic Very rare Rare Very rare

Garcinia cowa Roxb. ex DC. Garcinia pedunculata G. Don Gardenia campanulata Roxb. Gloriosa superba L. Goniothalamus simonsii Hk.f. and Th. Grewia hirsuta Vahl. Hedera nepalensis K. Koch Hedychium coronarium Koening Hedychium spicatum Ham. ex Sm. Hedyotis scandens D. Don Helicia excelsa Bl. Heptapleurum hypoleucum Kurz Holoptelea integrifolia Planch Hydnocarpus kurzii Ward. Hymenodictyon excelsum Wall. Ichnocarpus frutescens R. Br. Ilex embeloides Hk.f. Ilex khasiana Purk. Illicium griffithii Hk.f. and Th. Impatiens tripetala DC. Juglans regia L. Luvunga scandens Ham. Mahonia pycnophylla Takeda Mimusops elengi L. Mitrephora tomentosa Hk.f. and Th. Monotropa uniflora L. Morinda umbellata L. Munronia pinnata Harms. Nepenthes khasiana Hk.f. Ochna squarrosa Planet. Ophiorrhiza sub-capitata Wall. ex

Tree Tree Tree Herb Tree Under shrub Climber Herb Herb Shrub Tree Tree Tree Tree Tree Herb Tree Tree Tree Herb Tree Shrub Tree Tree Tree Herb Shrub Herb Herb Tree Herb

Endemic Endemic Very rare Endangered Indeterminate Endemic Vulnerable and endemic Endangered Vulnerable Data deficient Rare Data deficient Very rare Vulnerable Endemic and rare Rare Endemic and indeterminate Endangered and endemic Critically endangered Endemic Indeterminate Extremely rare Endemic and vulnerable Rare Rare Rare Very Rare Endemic and rare Endemic and endangered Endemic and vulnerable Endemic and

Hk.f. Oroxylum indicum Vent. Osbeckia capitata Benth. Panax pseudo-ginseng Wall. Paphiopedilum insigne Pfitz. Paramignya micrantha Kurz Parkia roxburghii A. DC. Picrasma javanica Bl. Piper boehmeriaefolium Wall. ex C. DC. Piper griffithii C. DC. Piper peepuloides Roxb. Polygonum bistorta L. Pterygota alata R. Br. Raphidophora decursiva Schott. Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. ex Kurz Rhynchostylis retusa Bl. Salix tetrasperma Roxb. Saraca asoca Willd. Schima khasiana Dyer. Schleichera trijuga Willd. Smilacina fusca Hk.f. Sophora accuminata Baker Stemona tuberosa Lour. Sterculia roxburghii Wall. Streblus asper Lour. Swertia chirayita Karst. Taxus wallichiana Zucc. Thalictrum foliolosum DC. Thunbergia coccinea Wall. Valeriana hardwickii Wall. Valeriana jatamansii Jones Wallichia densiflora Mart. Xylia xylocarpa Taub. Xylosma longifolium Clos.

Tree Herb Herb Terrestrial Liana Tree Tree Shrub Climber Climber Herb Tree Epiphyte Herb Epiphyte Tree Tree Tree Tree Herb Shrub Herb Tree Tree Herb Tree Herb Climber Herb Herb Tree Tree Tree

endangered Vulnerable Endemic Rare Vulnerable Rare and endemic Rare Very rare Near threatened Endemic Vulnerable and endemic Endemic Very rare Endemic Endangered Indeterminate Vulnerable Rare Rare and endemic Data deficient Indeterminate Rare and endemic Extremely rare Rare Rare Vulnerable Critically endangered Vulnerable Rare Vulnerable Vulnerable Data deficient Rare Rare

Discussion
The uses of the medicinal plant species varied among different ethnic groups in Meghalaya. According to the nature and acuteness of the ailment, a given species is being used in more than one disease or for curing a particular disease more than one species is being used. For instance, Cocculus orbiculatus is used for curing as many as 15 ailments and Citrus medica for seven ailments. The endemic species were mostly restricted to low (100 to 400 m a.s.l.) and mid (400 to 1,600 m a.s.l.) elevation zones of the state. Field observations indicate that these species are mostly restricted to undisturbed habitats and protected areas such as Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Jowai sacred forests and Raliang sacred forests. However, overuse of such plants in traditional as well as modern medicine system has posed a major threat to these species. Due to high level of exploitation and faulty harvesting techniques, many of the endemic species such as Acanthus leucostachys, Calamus erectus, C. aurantium, C. latipes, Curcuma montana, Daphniphyllum himalense, Elaegnus conferta, Goniothalamus simonsii, Hedera nepalensis, Hymenodictyon excelsum, Ilex embeloides, Mahonia pycnophylla, Munronia pinnata, Nepenthes khasiana, Ochna squarrosa, Ophiorhiza sub-capitata, Paramignya micrantha, Piper peepuloides, Schima khasiana and Sophora accuminata have been rendered rare (Haridasan et al., 1995). Therefore, effective conservation measures for these species needs to be adopted to prevent them from extinction. Table 5: Estimated annual raw drug (medicinal plant parts) consumed through Folk Healers in Meghalaya Medicinal plant species Acorus calamus (kynbat ksuid) Adhatoda zeylanica (diengkhloo) Aegle marmelos (selpri/belethi) Ageratum conyzoides (saphlang ke) Allium sativum (rynsun syntiew ner) Alpinia galanga (lakud) Artemesia vulgaris (jaiaw) Asparagus racemosus (memang tamatchi) Averrhoa carambola (amlenga) Azadirachta indica (neem) Annual raw drug consumption in Meghalaya(Kg) Garo Hills 3,136.8 5,228.0 1,568.4 Khasi Hills 9,306 2,831.4 2,262.8 1,386.0 Jaintia Hills 1,388.3 163.3 163.33 1,225.0 Total 9,306 1,388 3,137 163 2,831 2,263 1,386 4,356 1,732 1,225

Begonia roxburghii (jagaw) Bergenia ciliata (kynbat parnon) Canna indica (kynshiang) Cannabis sativa (bhang) Cassia fistula (snaru) Centella asiatica (mana muni) Chenopodium ambrosioides (jada) Cissus quadrangularis (samritchu) Clematis gonriana (bat bteng doh) Clerodendum colebrookianum Commelina benghalensis (jataid) Curcuma amada (dike tegatchu) Curcuma zedoaria (holdiasok) Cyperus rotundus (satruin ke) Datura stramonium (tiew shulim) Dillenia pentagyna (agatchi) Dioscorea bulbifera (bat bteng) Drymeria cordata (nai ke) Emblica officinalis (ambare) Eupatorium adenophorum (latnaiong) Fagopyrum cymosum (jarain) Ficus bengalensis (dienggri) Flacourtia jangomas (darechik budu) Flickingeria fugax Gerbera maxima Gynocardia odorata (bolribu ) Hedychium coronarium (gong) Hedyotis scandens Holarrhena

6,979.4 4,705.2 4,211.1 2,038.9 6,979.4 1,568.4 18,820.8 1,307.0 1,568.4 5,228.0 3,136.8

574.2 2,262.8 1,980.0 12,731.4 5,088.6 1,702.8 1,386.0 2,831.4 851.4 1,980.0 3,385.8 3,108.6 1,702.8 851.4 2,262.8 -

245.0 163.3 8,248.3 408.3 2,041.7 245.0 490.0 2,041.7 163.3 -

819 2,263 1,980 163 6,979 25,685 408 4,211 5,088 1,703 1,386 2,038 9,021 245 2,831 1,568 851 490 20,801 5,427 3,108 163 1,307 1,703 851 1,568 5,228 2,263 3,136

antidysenterica (bolmatra) Houttuynia cordata (jamyrdoh) Justicia gendarusa (dojagipe) Kaemferia galanga (wakprata) Knema linifolia (bolanchi) Litsea monopetala (boldokakki / lahambol) Morinda angustifolia (chenong) Mussaenda frondosa (syntu slalieh) Myrica esculenta (sophie) Nepenthes khasiana (tiew rakot) Nicotiana tabaccum (duma) Oroxylum indicum (kiring) Oxalis corniculata (ladaw ke) Paederia scandens (pasim) Passiflora nepalensis (soh brap) Phlogacanthus tubiflorus (alot) Pinus kesiya (dieng kseh) Piper longum (bat sohmarit) Piper peepuloides (sohmrit khlaw) Pithecellobium heterophyllum (mongnal) Potentilla fulgens (laniang kynthei) Pouzolzia hirta Psidium guajava (saprian) Rauvolfia serpentina (dogrikme) Rhus acuminata (bolmicheng) Rhus javanica (sama) Ricinus communis (dieng kastor) Rubus rugosus (soh nep bah) Schefflera venulosa (jengjil)

4,914.3 1,150.2 4,940.5 3,136.8 6,979.4 2,1931.4 1,307.0 2,091.2 2,091.2 14,638.4 1,568.4 1,150.2

2,554.2 1,386.0 12,731.4 16,691.4 1,128.6 1,386.0 9,900.0 9,900.0 851.4 1,386.0 -

4,491.7 571.7 491.8 245.0 980.0 1,796.7 1,715.0 571.7 -

4,491 4,914 1,150 4,940 3,136 6,979 571 2,554 1,878 245 21,931 980 14,038 16,691 2,091 1,128 1,386 9,900 2,091 9,900 851 1,796 14,638 1,568 1,715 571 1,386 1,150

Schima wallichii (dieng phuh lieh) Senecio cappa (sla jalieh) Setaria palmifolia (syntiew lakot) Stephania hernandifolia (samkusim) Swertia chirayita (chirota) Tamarindus indica (cheeng) Terminalia bellirica (chirore) Terminalia chebula (srtak) Tinospora cordifolia (jyrmi khlaw) Viburnum colebrookianum (syntuiap bru) Zingiber officinalis (sying)

575.1 11,763.0 862.6 5,803.1 18,298.0 -

1,128.6 1,702.8 1,128.6 2,262.8 -

408.3 81.7 408.3

408 1,128 1,703 575 12,892 862 5,803 18,298 2,263 81 408

Table 6. Estimated annual export of raw drugs (medicinal plant parts) from Meghalaya to outside the state Market centre from where exported Medical plant species Quality per annum(Kg) 1,500 (till 2001) 1,000 1,500 1,000 2,500 2,000 40 30

Terminalia chebula Damalgre Terminalia bellirica Emblica officinalis Acorus calamus Taxus wallichiana Nongstoin Centella asiatica Rubia cordifolia Rubia cordifolia Diskiangpungsior, Nonngstoin Centella asiatica Rauvolfia serpentina

For effective conservation of these species, identification of the causes of threats is a prerequisite for regulation of threat factors. The endemic-rich areas identified in the present study may be considered as priority areas for conservation and thus be protected, and special conservation measures may be introduced. The endemics are generally related to biodiversity rich areas of the state such as Nokrek, Jowai, Raliang, and Shillong. The attachment of these endemic species to such biodiversity rich areas may be due to habitat specificity, plant associations and well protected habitats. Thus, protection of areas with high endemism would also protect many other species growing in that area.

The medicinal plants in Meghalaya are mostly found in wild and there is not much effort for their cultivation. Thus, it is natural that much of the collection in the state has a wild origin. Perhaps Cinnamomum tamala is the only medicinal crop that is available from cultivated source. The stakeholders of medicinal plants sector are different, so is the method of collection and processing. As in the rest of the country, the current practices of harvesting of medicinal plants in Meghalaya are unsustainable. Many pharmaceutical companies are also responsible for inefficient, imperfect, informal and opportunistic marketing of medicinal plants. There is a vast, secretive and largely unregulated trade in medicinal plants, mainly from the wild. Such unfair trade continues to grow in the absence of a medicinal plant policy and absence of any regulatory mechanism for extraction of wild medicinal plants, particularly from the community and privately owned forests. Confusion also exists in the identification of plant materials where the origin of a particular drug is assigned to more than one plant (Piper longum and P. mullesua). This leads to adulteration of raw materials. All these affect the market both directly and indirectly. Marketability of products is a crucial factor in determining the failure or success of medicinal plant sector. The market outlets in Meghalaya are mostly for local use, although only a few are meant for export. Besides conservation aspects, a clear understanding of the supply related issues and the factors driving the demand and size of the medicinal plants market is a vital step towards medicinal plant development planning.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dona M. Sangma and V. Manners for assisting in data collection. The financial supports received from the State Medicinal Plant Board, Shillong for conducting the study and UGC-CSIR NET Fellowship to the third author are gratefully acknowledged.

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of herbal medicines. In: Jain, S.K. Ed. Glimpses of Indian ethnobotany. New Delhi, Oxford and IBH. pp. 124-136. Rao, R.R. 1981b. Ethnobotany of Meghalaya: Medicinal plants used by Khasi and Garo tribes in Meghalaya. Economic Botany, 35 (1): 4-9. Rao, R.R. and Neogi, B. 1980. Observation on the ethnobotany of the Khasi and Garo tribes in Meghalaya (India). Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany, 1: 157-162. Schippmann, U.; Leaman, D.J. and Cunningham, A.B. 2002. Impact of cultivation and gathering of medicinal plants on biodiversity: Global trends and issues. Rome, F.A.O. Tripathi, S. and Goel, A.K. 2001. Ethnobotanical diversity of Zingiberaceae in Northeast India. Ethnobotany, 13: 67-79. Trivedi, P.C. Ed. 2002. Ethnobotany. Aavishkar Publishers. 455 p. Upadhaya K.; Pandey, H.N.; Law, P.S and Tripathi, R.S. 2005. Plants of ethnobotanical importance in the sacred groves of Jaintia hills of Meghalaya. Indian Forester, 131(6): 819-828.

GROWING OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN AGROFORESTRY: WIMCOS EXPERIENCE

R.C. Dhiman and J.N. Gandhi
Wimco Seedling Ltd., Bagwala, Rudrapur - 263 153

Introduction

and use resources are under immense pressure for meeting the increased requirement of

food, fodder, shelter and other land and biomass based needs of human and cattle population. The practice of agroforestry as a multiple land use enables production of additional products by integrating different components on the same piece of land, and is therefore, increasingly recommended to ensure additional income from the sale of trees grown in association with annual and perennial intercrops; maintain, sustain and improve soil productivity and fertility through addition of tree leaf litter; and diversify land use with social and environmental friendly crops and farm practices. The practice of agroforestry is though traditionally very old and well establishmed in India yet its improved versions having commercial connotations are visible in different parts of the country. In North India, poplar (Populus deltoides), eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.), drek (Melia spp.), salix (Salix spp.), sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), kadam (Anthocephalus

kadamba), etc are now being planted on farm fields in association with traditional and high value agricultural crops. Numerous publications have recommended growing of medicinal and aromatic plants in agroforestry to generate remunerative returns to growers; ease pressure on natural forests by shifting their supply from farm production; make available fresh, genuine and quality raw material to the industry; introduce and domesticate useful drug and essence plant species in comparable climatic and edaphic conditions; develop better cultivars and varieties through plant improvement programmes; conserve their biological diversity; and provide employment opportunity through their cultivation, trade and processing (Chaturvedi, 1981; Chauhan, 2000; Chauhan, 2003; Dobriyal and Gussain, 2003; Jhadav and Thaware, 2003; Balwan, 2004; Sharma and Bhojvaid, 2004; Vishnu Dut and Thakur, 2004; Singh et al., 1990 Chauhan, 2006; Gill, 2006). Over exploitation of some such plants viz., Andrographis paniculata, Chlorophytum arundinacearum, Curcuma caesiam, Gymnema sylvestre, Gloriosa superba, Hedychium coronarium, Plumbago zeylanica, Rauwolfia serpentina, Tinospora cordifolia and Withania somniferahas already depleted their occurrence and as a result these species have been included in the endangered list (Tewari et al., 2004). Domestication and cultivation of such plants is urgently needed for saving them from extinction and also for getting benefits of biological, pharmaceutical and scientific values associated with them. Wimco Seedlings Ltd., an agriculture based company incorporated under the provisions of the Company Laws, is involved in the research and development of forest and fruit trees, develop and improve agroforestry practices by incorporating trees and high value crops including medicinal and aromatic plants and extend the successful practices for the benefit of the farming community. The company is backbone for the poplar programme which has transformed the rural economy in North India and is further endeavouring to develop new cultivars of productive poplar, eucalypts, kadam, etc and crop combinations for improving the agroforestry practices and return thereof. The company has attempted growing of a large number of medicinal and aromatic plants in association with trees especially in poplar based agroforesty (PBAF), both on trial and commercial basis, and its results are discussed and summarized in this paper. A brief account on growing important medicinal and aromatic plants on companys farms is given hereunder. Turmeric This is one of the main crop that Wimco Seedlings Ltd. has been growing in association with poplar since long. It is estimated that by now the company has grown this crop in over a thousand acres. There have been a number of enquiries in the recent past for extracting oil from its plants, yet the crop has been sold either as fresh rhizomes or as dried rhizomes to local traders, for making powder sold in the local market, for use in kitchens. The prices of raw turmeric vary widely from year to year and the economical returns therefrom are highly fluctuating. However, during our documented study in 1997, a profit of Rs. 11,240/acre was recorded when its rhizomes were sold @Rs. 5/kg. Its prices were down to Rs. 2/kg in between and its cultivation at that stage was not remunerative but presently is being sold at Rs. 6/kg. Growing of turmeric was also attempted by the company in poplar nursery during 1987 and the yield of this crop was recorded as 21.0, 25.8, 14.7 q/ha in G3, G48 and D121 clones which was about one third in comparison to open conditions.

Growing turmeric at Wimco Seedlings Ltd. and elsewhere is more a matter of convenience under PBAF. Economical returns from other traditional crops reduces at the late stage of poplar growth, yet fields under poplar trees need to be kept weed free and also need some inputs to continue their growth. Another reason that favours turmeric cultivation is that in the old aged trees, cost on its cultivation significantly reduces as there is no requirement of seed and a little cost on agricultural operations after first year of its planting is required. Main production and marketing states for turmeric in the country are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Farmers of the poplar growing region are not able to compete with those of southern states in term of returns, yield and quality of turmeric produced. Moreover, growing turmeric with poplar at later stages of tree growth is also favoured because of the decreased yields of other traditional crops under shade makes their cultivation economically non-viable. Ginger There have been some attempts to grow ginger in PBAF by the company and also by some farmers. Growing of ginger on experimental scale was tried by the company under 4-year-old plantation and also under 6-year-old kadam plantation (Table:1 and Table:3). In both cases, it gave a negative cash flow. Ginger was grown in poplar nursery during 1987 and it yielded 4.2 to 4.6 q/ha rhizomes under different clones which otherwise produce 60-80 q/ha under open conditions. Ginger is not a normal crop of most of poplar growing areas especially in Tarai where it gets increased rhizome rot due to high humidity and water table. However, a few farmers grow this crop in association with young poplar trees in upland where rotting of rhizomes is not frequent. Mentha Mentha has been grown in PBAF on 0.25 acres during 1993 and on 5 acres during 2003 (Table 1). The results indicate that it is profitable to grow mentha in young plantations whereas, herbage and oil yields decreased in old plantations. Growing it in two year old plantation has resulted in a net profit of Rs. 10,520/acre and a net loss of Rs. 7,740/acre when grown under 4-year-old poplar plantation. Similarly when it was grown under 6-year-old kadam plantation it resulted in a net loss of Rs. 10,465/acre. Many of those farmers who do not grow sugarcane in the first and second year of poplar planting, prefer to plant mentha in their fields. Some farmers also plant mentha in the third year of poplar growth and get positive cash flow. Pachauli Pachauli (Pogostemon patchouli syn. cablin) was tried by the company under poplar during mid nineties and its growth, productivity and profitability were found satisfactory. Net profit of Rs. 11,240/ acre in 1997 from its cultivation indicate handsome returns (Table 1). However, its cultivation under 6-years-old kadam plantations resulted in a net loss of Rs. 16,760/acre. Pachauli oil is used as a carrier for most of perfumes and its trading market is in Delhi. The crop produces fairly good herbage yield under partial shade of poplar plantation, yet facilities for its oil extraction and unavailability of marketing failed to push its cultivation up in this area. Vacha The company has been growing vacha (Acorus calamus) over 0.8 acres since 2000 in a plot

which is low lying and invariably gets flooded for a couple of months during the year. The starting material was procured from Dabur, India in 2000 and planted the same year. The plant has slowly multiplied through suckers and spread in the entire plot. The plot was without tree cover earlier but was planted same year with Salix clones procured from J&K Forest Department in 2000. The company has been selling vacha by extracting its suckers from this plot whenever demand arises for the same. Vacha has been sold since 2002 and parties mostly from in and around Rudrapur, Kashipur, Ramnagar, Lucknow, etc. take it as the planting material for plantations. There was also a demand for dried vacha from Ramnagar and the party had quoted Rs. 19/kg as the price during 2006 for the same. The company has been selling its fresh tubers @ Rs. 6/kg. The returns from growing vacha in that case will be almost half than what was received by the company on the sale of fresh tubers. There are numerous plots in Tarai and other areas where water stagnates for longer period and cultivation of traditional crops is not possible due to water logging. The net returns from these areas therefore, improves if vacha is once introduced and allowed to multiply before its extraction is started. Net income of Rs.3,465/acre/yr has been earned by the company (Table 1) from this crop during the last seven year which could be considered reasonable since this plot cannot be put under normal production due to excessive water. The returns from sale of Salix trees will further improve the returns when they are finally harvested and sold. Muskdana (daula) Muskdana is an annual crop which is invariably grown by the farmers for its sale to local sugarcane crushers who use its juice in curing gur and sakar (local sugar). The company has grown muskdana in 6.5 acre land in plot no. 11 of Chandain Farm during 2003 under six year old poplar trial plantation. The economics and net profitability from growing this crop is presented at column 7 in Table 1, which has resulted in a small profit of Rs. 600/acre. However, there was not good demand for such bulk production and it was delivered at the crusher site by the company. This crop was also grown during 1988 and recorded a yield of 176 q/ha which was sold for a value of Rs. 1,760 at the sale price prevalent during that time. Muskadana production is also significantly affected under poplar shade; further, the demand of this plant is not very high. Table 1. Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants under poplar based agroforestry Crop tried at Pavan Description Farm Tege Artem Men Men Cel Muskd Turm Gin Patch Lem Citron Palmo tes isia tha tha ery ana eric ger auli on ella rosa 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 5.0 2 0.25 3.2 4 6 6.5 6 5*5 0.25 4 5*5 0.25 4 5*5 0.25 4 5*5 0.25 0.25 4 4 0.25 4 5*5 Crop tried at Chandain Farm

1 Area(in 10.0 23.0 acres) Plantation 2 1 age(years) Spacing(m 7*3 5*5

5*5 5*5 5*5

5*5 5*5

*m) Year of 1999 plantation Year of crop 2001 production Costs(per acre in Rs.) Nursery expenses Cost of 1,50 seed 0 Field preperatio 518 n Bed preperatio n Weeding/h oeing and 5,14 earthing 8 up Spraying and 400 irrigation Mulching Cost of fertilizer 791 and chemicals Harvesting , transportat 126 ion and extraction Total cost of 8,48 productio 3 n Return 2,58 (per acre) 1

2006 2007

2005 1993 1995 1997 2007 1997 2001 2003

1993 1993 1993 1997 1997 1997

1993 1993 1997 1997

1993 1997

2,00 600 0 1,00 0 1,088 700 1,10 800 0 200 700 4,200 6,000

8,000

1,24 1,280 0

600

1,100 1,100 1,100 740 700

820

1,00 1,52 0 0 1,20 3,170 1,200 0 1,00 400 0

480

400

1,000 500 500

500

3,383 500

1,600 1,600 3,640 540 580

500

61

200

200

600 800

600 800

1,850 360 320

320

613

600

1,48 310 0

600

1,200 800

1,800 480 480

520

41

1,00 2,92 500 0 0

500

1,000 1,000 2,870

1,32 1,400 0

1,160

5,186

5,00 11,2 5,780 3,400 0 20 15,5 3,48 3,840 4,000 20 0

10,980

12,30 5,18 20,260 5,260 0 0 6,42 7,168 0

4,420

5,533

28,700 4,260 31,500

3,060

Net (profit/loss )5,90 347 (per acre) 2

((10,5 )7,74 )1,94 600 20 0 0

(1,24 17,720 )8,04 11,240 1,908 0 0

()1,360

Essential oil grasses The company has grown essential oil grasses viz., palmorosa, citronella and lemon grass under poplar and kadam plantations both on trial basis and also on commercial scale. The economical returns, as presented in Table 1 and Table 3, have not been satisfactory. The net profits on growing of lemon grass and citronella under four year old poplar were Rs. 1,240 ad Rs.1,908/acre, respectively, the cost: benefit analysis for palmorosa under poplar was negative at Rs.1,360/acre whereas, none of the essential grasses gave positive cash flow when grown under six years old kadam. These grasses were also commercially grown in 2.8 acre plot having 7 year old kadam plantation. The performance of these grasses was so bad that these were uprooted and ploughed back in the fields. Tagetes minuta The company has grown this aromatic herb both on trial basis and also at commercial scale during 2000-01. The plants were planted during October 2000 and the crop was harvested during May 2001. Table 2 presents the results of such a trial in which the crop was grown in over 6 acres (one acre each under 3 to 7 years old poplar plantations and one acre under open conditions) to compare the performance of this plant under poplar based agroforestry. Results indicate a wide variation in almost all the recorded parameters viz. herbage yield/acre, oil yield/acre and per q of herbs used for extraction. The extraction of the oil was done locally in a distillation unit used for normal distillation of mentha oil. The oil was sold @Rs. 470/kg in Delhi market. The purchaser questioned the quality of the oil since it was reported to be inferior as it was distilled in iron pans used for mentha oil. It is advocated to distil its oil in steel pans but their local unavailability forced us to get it distilled in iron pans. The rate of good quality oil at that time quoted by the purchasers was around Rs. 800/kg. The net returns on growing this plant under poplar has been negative on the basis of returns we got on sale of oil in Delhi. The sale price of the oil, if calculated based on the good quality (extracted in steel pans) considered as Rs. 800/kg will also provide much less returns than those obtained by growing the traditional crops. In another large scale attempt to grow this plant on a consolidated plot of 10 acres having 4 years old poplar plantation at 7x3 m spacing; the yield and economic returns were much lower (Table 2) than the one mentioned in above case. This crop at the present processing facility and costing does not have a scope of large scale cultivation either in poplar based agroforestry or as a pure crop in open fields in these areas since returns therefrom, are much less than those received by growing traditional agricultural crops. This plant was also grown by a couple of progressive farmers of the locality, however, they could recover their money through sale of its seed for further planting by other farmers rather than by selling its oil. Now this crop is no more grown by the farmers of this locality. Table 2. Cultivation of Tegetes minuta under 3-7 year-old poplar plantations Age of poplar Area(acre) Herbage Oil Oil yield(qtl/acre) yield(Kg/acre) yield(%) Oil sold @ Rs. 470/Kg If sold @ Rs. 800/Kg Return/acre Net

plantation 7 years 6 years 5 years 4 years 3 years Open condition 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 18.0 17.8 28.0 21.0 26.0 20.0 4.56 5.36 8.40 11.56 11.68 12.96 0.25 0.30 0.30 0.55 0.45 0.65

Return/acre Netprofit/acre 2,143 (-)6,279 2,519 (-)5,903 3,948 (-)4,474 5,433 (-)2,989 5,490 (-)2,932 6,091 (-)2,331

profit/acre 3,648 )4,774 4,288 )4,134 6,720 )1,702 9,248 826 9,344 10,368 922 1,946 (((-

Artemisia annua Growing of this plant was promoted by one company from Mumbai during 2006 in this locality. The company provided seed free and gave a buy back guarantee to purchase the herbage yield at announced price of Rs. 2,000/q and assured around 10q of herbage yield/acre. The company had gained a net profit of Rs. 13,000/acre after deducting an expenditure of Rs. 7,000/acre. Getting assurance for the buy back of the produce at remunerative prices, the crop was grown in over 500 acres in Uttrakhand and the adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh. Like many agricultural crops, yield varied widely and farmers obtained on an average of 5 q herbage yield/acre with a maximum of 9-10q/acre in exceptional cases under open conditions. We raised this crop over 23 acres under two year old poplar plantation and obtained average herbage yield of 2.74 q/acre. The promoters lifted a part of the produce and around 30 q produce is still lying unsold in our store. Repeated requests for its lifting failed to impress upon the company to lift the balance material and make the payment. It is presumed that plant might have lost some of its active ingredients by now and it will not fetch that price, which was already paid to us. There are reports that produce of many other farmers was also not lifted by the promoters. The company has purchased the produce at a price of Rs. 1,500/q, which was Rs. 500 less than promised. The economics of growing this crop at our farm is given at column 3 in Table 1, which also includes value at the same price for unsold material. Not satisfied with the response of promoters and the performance of the plant, farmers back-tracked to the traditional crops. As a result of one year experience, this crop was not grown by a single farmer during 2007 in this locality. Table 3. Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants under kadam and salix based agroforestry Description Turmeric Ginger Mentha Pachauli Lemon grass Citronella Palmorosa Acorus

Area (acre) Tree component Plantation age (years) Spacing (m*m) Year of plantation Year of crop production Costs (per acre in Rs.) Nursery expenses Cost of seed Field preperation Bed preperation and planting cost Weeding/hoeing and earthing up Spraying and irrigation Mulching Cost of fertilizer and chemicals Harvesting, transportation and axtraction Total cost of production Return(per acre) Net profit/loss(per acre)

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.25 Kadam 6 5*5 1989 1997

0.8 Salix 6 5*5 2000 continued

2,000 4,200 1,100 480 1,600 600 800 1,200 1,000 10,980 3,120 (-)7,860 6,000 1,100 400 1,600 600 800 800 1,000 12,300 1,160 1,480 2,920 11,000 535 1,100 1,520 980 1,000

8,000 1,100 1,000 3,640 1,850

1,240 740 500 540 360

1,280 700 500 580 320

600 820 500 500 320 1,200 400 600

1,800 2,870 20,260 3,500

480 1,320 5,180 2,292

480 1,400 5,260 3,776 (-) 1,484

520 1,160 4,420 625 (-)3,795 5,320 7,520 31,920 (-) 3,485

(-)11,140 (-)10,465 (-) 16,760 (-) 2,888

Celery Another high value aromatic and table crop celery was grown over 3.2 acres land in Chandain Farm under seven year old poplar plantation which was planted at 5X5 m spacing. The crop was sown in October 2000 and harvested in May 2001.The initial purpose of growing this crop was to sell it as salad in Delhi. Failing to get adequate response for selling this bulk produce in a short span at Delhi, the crop was allowed to mature and its seed was sold in the medicinal and aromatic plant produce market in Amritsar where it was purchased by the buyers through open auction. The economics of this crop as given at column 6 in Table 1 is negative and thereafter, this crop was also not grown by us or reportedly by any other farmer of this locality. The company has also grown Kaunch (Mucuna spp) over 5 acres in five year old poplar

plantation by planting single vine near a tree (Plat). The effective area under this crop therefore could be approximately half acre, out of which approximately 50 kg seed was produced. The price for its produce was quoted so low in the local market that this produce is still lying unsold at our store. In addition, kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) was also grown under 6 years old plantation over 200 m2 area from where around 2 q dry leaves were collected.

Discussion
Identification of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants as Intercrops There is an increased interest in growing medicinal and aromatic plants in agroforestry especially in PBAF. Numerous publications have identified number of such plants which could be grown under the shade of trees. Chauhan (2006) reported growing of 64 medicinal plant species under poplar at Gangapur Patia plantation area under Silviculture Division Sal Region in Tarai area during 1987-89. Out of these 64 speceis,Acorus calamus, Adhatoda vasica, Aloe barbadense, Artemisia vulgaris, Cannabis sativa, Centella asiatica, Curcuma longa, Cymbopogon winterianus, Cyperus rotundus, Mimosa pudica, Piper longum, Solanum indicum, Vetiveria zizanioides, Amomum subulatum, Calotropis gingantea, Cympbopogon spp., Ocimum sanctum, Plantago ovata and Zingiber officinale were found most suitable whereas, Abrus precatorious, Cinamomum zeylanicum, Cymbopogon martinii, Mentha citrata, Premna latifolia, Salvadora oleoides, Tribulus terrestris, Withania somenifera and Woodfordia fruiticosa showed poor performance. Sharma and Bhojvaid (2004) tried growing some medicinal and aromatic plants (from a list of 21 such plants recommended by the National Board of Medicinal Plants) in poplar based agroforestry in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana and Dehradun, Uttrakhand localities. The authors reported that Andrographis paniculata (kalmegh), Asparagus racemosus (shatavar), Ocimum sanctum (tulsi), Rauwolfia serpentina (sarpagandha),Spilantheus acomella (akarkara), Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) are suitable for growing under poplar-mango mix plantations. Under 3 years old PBAF, these workers authors recommended growing Tinospora cordifolia (gloe), Andrographis paniculata (kalmegh), Asparagus racemosa (shatavar), Ocimum sanctum (tulsi), Rauwolfia serpentina (sarpagandha), Plumbago zeylanica (chitrak), while Chlorophytum arundinaceum (safed musli) was reported to be unsuitable for cultivation under poplar. Chauhan (2003a) reported growing of numerous medicinal and aromatic plants viz. lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), palmarosa (C. martinii), citronella (C. winterianus), Mentha spp., patchouli (Pogostemom patchouli), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), pipli (Piper longum), safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum), turmeric (Curcuma longa) and marigold (Tagetes minuta) under poplar plantations. Faiz Mohsin (2005) has grown five Mentha species viz. M. arvensis, M. piperata, M. citrata, M. spicata and M. cardiaca under poplar and Eucalyptus hybrid plantations, whereas, Vishnu Dutt and Thakur (2004) reported growing of Spilanthes acomella, Ocimum sanctum, Tagetes minuta, and Withania sominfera in PBAF. Singh et al. (2000) reported growing of Mentha species and Cymbopogon spp., while Chaturvedi (1981) and Jaiswal et al. (1993) worked on turmeric and ginger. The company has tried growing of around two dozen medicinal and aromatic plants under

poplar, kadam and salix plantations. Based on our experience, Mentha species in young plantations, whereas turmeric in old plantations are ideal combinations and have been grown by numerous farmers in PBAF. In some low lying locations where even growing of poplar is not recommended due to water logging for a couple of months, growing of vacha with salix is a better option. However, salix plantation has yet not been picked up by the farmers in this locality because of relatively slow growth and low returns as comparison to poplar. All the medicinal plants tried under kadam could not give remunerative returns and hence this model is not recommended for commercial growing by the farmers. However, Kadam is planted on boundaries of the low lying fields where some of the shade loving plants like vacha could be tried in association with this tree. Yield and Productivity of Intercrops The yield and returns of intercrop, in general, decrease with increase in the age of plantation and also with decrease in the spacing of trees besides the agronomical operations and productive potential of land. Singh et al. (1990), on the other hand, reported that poplar trees had no adverse effect on the herb and oil yield of different Mentha spp. cultivated during the first year of poplar growth. But in the succeeding years, it affected he herb and oil yields. Jaiswal et al. (1993) have reported that though ginger and turmeric crops are grown under partial shade, their yield decreased under close spacing of 5X3 m poplar plantation in comparison to 5X5 m spacing. The author further reported reduction in yield to reduction in illumination under the shade of trees. Dhanda (2006) also reported significant differences in turmeric yield due to varieties and the direction of the planted trees. The author further reported that the yield of turmeric was more near the base of trees. Yadav (1999 and 2000) while reporting growing of Cymbopogon flexuosus CKP-25 under poplar (G3) plantation recommended increase in spacing and fertilizer application for increasing the yield of intercrop. In general, the percentage reduction in herb and oil yields of different Mentha species ranged between 10-26 per cent and 8-24 per cent, respectively. There was very little reduction in both herb and oil yield of all the three Cymbopogon spp. over the period of three years in poplar. Thus, according to the author, Cymbopogon spp. appeared to be more remunerative crops for poplar as compared to Mentha spp. Faiz Mohsin (2005) has grown five Mentha species viz., M. arvensis, M. piperata, M. citrata, M. spicata and M. cardiaca under 2, 3, 6 and 7 years of L49 poplar clone, eucalyptus stand and also in open conditions. Higher herbage and oil yield was recorded in pure fields of mentha. It is also observed that herb and oil yield was recorded highest in M. arvensis, followed by M. citrata, M. spicata and lowest was in M. piperata under plantation in all the age groups, as well as in pure crops. In another attempt to grow Cymbopogon martinii and C. flexuosus in tarai region, the results indicate decrease in herb yield by 5.4 per cent and oil yield by 15.4 per cent under tree cover of eucalypts and poplar (Tewari, 1993). The results of our six acre trial plantation of Tagetes minuta (one acre each under five different aged plantations and a control) presented in Table 2 clearly indicate decrease in almost all the recorded parameters viz., herbage yield, oil yield, oil content and net returns with increase in age of plantation from open condition to seven years old plantations. Singh et al. (1989) suggested that the decreasing oil yield of intercrops might be due to shading effect caused by the trees.

There are many indications that the biosynthesis and metabolism of essential oil in aromatic crops is influenced by environmental factors (Duriyprapan and Britton, 1982; Rousseva, 1970). Economical Returns Numerous publications document remunerative returns from growing medicinal and aromatic plants in agroforestry especially in PBAF. Chauhan and Dhyani (1989) have identified arecanut with pineapple and black pepper as one of the most productive and promising combination suitable for tropical zone in which a net return of Rs. 42,500/ha/yr followed by arecanut and black pepper (Rs. 36,500) and pine apple plus mandrid/orange (Rs. 29,000) combinations could be obtained. Singh et al. (1988) observed that a net income of Rs. 1,10,242/ha in five years could be fetched by growing aromatic grasses under poplar trees Chauhan (2003a) reported a net profit of Rs. 50,100/ha/yr from poplar +lemongrass combination while Rs. 49,000/ha/yr from turmeric crop when grown under partial shade of poplar plantation. The author further mentioned net returns of Rs 45,000/ha/yr from pachauli, Rs. 42,000/ha/yr from pipli, Rs. 36,000 from ashwagandha and Rs. 43,000 from safed musli when grown in PBAF. In another publication, the same author reported the profitability of growing some medicinal and aromatic intercrops with poplar i.e., Rs. 43,590/ha/yr from lemongrass,, Rs. 40,160 from Cintronella java, Rs. 39,670 from Palmarosa and Rs. 36,370/ha/yr from Japanese mint (Chauhan 2003b). Most of the publications on cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants as reviewed above paint a very rosy picture on economic returns and this has been a tempting factor for numerous farmers to atleast experiment their growing on farm lands. The fact that except for mentha and turmeric, no other crop is routinely grown by the farmers indicates some missing link between these publications and the experience of the farmers. It appears that most of these publications have come from scientific trials which have been conducted on small land areas and estimates of yields and returns projected on hectare basis. The results of such trials conducted on limited area when projected for large areas get inflated especially when the agronomical inputs on small land areas (as in case of these trials) are better controlled and are little more effective than those carried out with machinery at operational scale. The second reason for such a variation could be that the scientific methods employed in labs for extraction of essential oils and end products of medicinal and aromatic plants are more precise, efficient and devoid of pilferage and wastage. At operational levels, the extractions are not that efficient and therefore, these do not yield the desired output i.e. essential oil in aromatic plants as is claimed in most of the scientific publications. Another angle to this issue could be quality of the produce locally extracted is not able to match with that extracted in labs or organized industrial units. The extraction of pachouli oil and even marigold (Tagetes) oil is made in local iron based units installed for extraction of mentha oil, since better steel based units do not exist near the plant production sites and therefore, price offered for locally extracted oil is much lower than generally quoted in publications. Further, these publications do not take into account the margin earned by the middlemen in trading such products. According to Rao (1986), the farmers share of the consumer price is only about 22 per cent and more than 41-50 per cent is taken away by the middlemen. In limited cases, good returns have been earned by selling the planting material rather than as raw material for the

industry. For example, the planting stock of safed musli was sold at exorbitant prices by a few initial growers but this crop failed to pick up for cultivation to yield its active ingredients in north India. Growing of medicinal and aromatic plants is advocated under the diversification plans initiated by different states to divert the farming from harmful wheatpaddy rotation. However, their cultivation is governed by an extremely important single factor of monetary returns. The principal that any crop which gives better return over the traditional crops will find favour among the farming community also holds true for growing medicinal and aromatic plants. This has been amply demonstrated by the practical model of growing mentha with poplar during its initial stages of growth in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand, since this provides better returns than traditional crops. The normal practice in PBAF in this locality is to grow sugarcane in the first two years (second year crop is that of ratoon and it yields approximately half the yield ie., 125 q/acre and wheat thereafter till the poplar trees are harvested at 5 to 8 years of poplar growth. Farmer with average land productivity in poplar based agroforestry gets Rs. 13,000/acre, Rs. 7,000/acre, Rs. 5,500/acre, Rs. 4,000/acre, Rs. 3,200/acre, Rs. 3,000/, Rs. 2,700/acre and Rs. 2,500/acre in first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth year of poplar growth respectively. A few innovative farmers even grow vegetables and fodder crops during summers under poplar after third year and returns from these crops are not factored here. A general expected value from agricultural lands in this locality is over Rs. 10,000/acre which is a leasing amount of the land in operation for contract farming in this locality. Therefore, any attempt of cultivation of any crop as a sole crop or as intercrop in agroforestry needs to meet the above economical parameters for its future scope of commercialization.

Bottlenecks
Information barrier Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants on farmers fields and especially in commercial form of agroforestry is a recent phenomenon. Farmers, in general, are carried away by the publicity stunt organized by vested interests including some of the numerous complex factors which farmers are not fully aware of. There is therefore, a need for developing system wherein farmers get realistic and appropriate information on packages of practices, economics, yields, trading, marketing facilities, demand and supply scenario, extraction methods, collection and harvesting indicators for high active ingredients associated with medicinal and aromatic plants. Transit regulations Most of the medicinal and aromatic plants fall under the definition of forest produce since these owe their origin to forest land resources and therefore, still attract local forest laws in their harvesting and transport. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India have reportedly issued instructions to different states during 2004 to relax felling and transit regulations of certain category of trees grown by the farmers to promote agroforestry. The list needs to include medicinal and aromatic plants since these are now being grown by the farmers on their fields. These plants on harvesting from farmers fields need transport to sale processing units and thus, require a transit pass from the competent forest officers. Relaxation of harvesting and transit regulations on agroforestry produce is a long standing issue raised by the farming community in different states, yet many states have not been proactive in relaxing such

conditions. State of Uttrakhand has initiated market interventions wherein medicinal and aromatic plants are auctioned in its designated mandis from where transit passes are issued to the parties on getting sale proceeds on their names. However, carriage of these plants from the farmers fields to the auction/sale units involving same or different revenue villages still require transit pass to accompany the produce during transportation. Buy back guarantee Medicinal and aromatic plants have a specific use in making drugs and essence in pharmaceutical industry therefore, hardly find any utilisation among the locals if left unsold. Buy back guarantee at remunerative prices is a minimum promise, a farmer needs before venturing in to this business. This is amply proved in cultivation of Artemisia annua on over 500 acres in tarai region of Uttrakhand and a part of Uttar Pradesh during 2006. In 2007, not a single farmer attempted to grow this plant, when the industry which entered in buy back agreements disappeared even without lifting the produce of many farmers. Support price Medicinal and aromatic plants like other agricultural crops grown on farm land needs to be provided a minimum support price so that farmers interests are properly protected. In case of defaulters like those of cultivation of Artemisia annua presented above, government needs to support farmers with a minimum price for their produce and also defaulting parties needs to be penalized for cheating the farmers. Further, these crops also need to be covered under the insurance cover like plantation crops to save farmers from the losses expected from natural calamities. Farm holdings Most farm holdings in India are small and marginal where the first interest of the farmers is to grow food crops for meeting their day to day food needs. Many farmers in this group have though adopted agroforestry and planted trees on the boundaries of their fields but continue to grow traditional agricultural crops for their food security. This may not be a case for growing medicinal and aromatic plants since these will directly compete with their food crops. It is only possible, if the returns from growing medicinal and aromatic plants become so lucrative that they purchase food items from open market by selling their medicinal and aromatic plants at higher value in the open market or they get money in between from the promoters to meet their day to day needs. It appears unlikely in the recent future and this group of farmers will hardly be encouraged for growing these plants until and unless some material change takes place on the issues discussed above. Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants will therefore, continue to be with those farmers who have alternate source of income and who can divert their land for this purpose.

Conclusion
The experience of Wimco Seedlings Ltd. in growing of medicinal and aromatic plants is based on cultivation in its own farms, which are primarily used for growing poplar plantations for matchwood and interspaces for growing such crops. The productivity of these farms could be around average productivity that exists in tarai region. Further, the company factors all expenditure in production since all inputs including labour are hired on payment basis whenever

required. The fact that most of the farmers do their farm operations themselves and save some amount on labour costs could give them a little better returns than what the company has obtained on their cultivation. Further, the productivity of some farms could be slightly better than that of our farms and therefore, this could also improve their returns to some extent. The bottom line for growing medicinal and aromatic plants on farm land including agroforestry is that the returns therefrom, should be more than the traditional practices in vogue. Presently, mentha in young plantations and turmeric in old plantation has been accepted as remunerative tree-crop combinations in PBAF and is being followed by a large number of the farmers in poplar growing region. Many other medicinal and aromatic plants, though were tried but could not compete with traditional crops and therefore, did not attract the attention of the farmers.

References
Balwan, R.P. 2004. Suitable agroforestry practices for cultivation of medicinal plants in semiarid region of Haryana. In: National Workshop on Agroforestry. Panchkula, 22-24 November 2004, Abstracts and papers. Panchkula, Haryana Forest Department. pp. 116-124. Chaturvedi, A.N. 1981. Poplar farming in U.P. U.P Forest Bulletin, 45: 11-14. Chauhan, D.S. and Dhyani, S.K. 1989. Production potential of promising agroforestry practices in Meghalaya. Indian Journal Hill Farming, 2(2): 31-37. Chauhan, H.S. 2000. Medicinal and aromatic plants for agroforestry. Indian Farmers Digest, 32(2): 17-18. Chauhan, H.S. 2003a. Growing medicinal and aromatic crops under well developed poplar and eucalypt plantations. In: National Symposium on Agroforestry in 21st Century, Ludhiana, February, 11-14, 2003, Abstracts. Ludhiana, P.A.U. p. 9. Chauhan, H.S. 2003b. Performance of polar (Populus deltoides) based agroforestry system using aromatic crops. Indian Journal Agroforestry, 2: 17-21. Chauhan, N.S. 2006. Integration of medicinal and aromatic plants in agroforestry. In: Chauhan, Sanjeev K.; Gill, S.S.; Khajuria, H.N. and Chauhan, Rajni Eds. Production technology and management of agroforestry models. Udaipur, Geeta Somani Agrotech. pp. 108-116. Dhanda, R.S. 2006. The tree-crop productivity under different agroforestry systems. In: Chauhan, Sanjeev K.; Gill, S.S.; Khajuria, H.N. and Chauhan, Rajni Eds. Production technology and management of agroforestry models. Udaipur, Geeta Somani Agrotech. pp. 39-58. Dobriyal, Manmohan and Gusain, Mahender Singh. 2003. Medicinal and aromatic plants based agroforestry models for hills of Uttranchal. In: National Symposium on Agroforestry in 21st Century. February, 11-14, 2003, Abstracts. Ludhiana, P.A.U. p. 18.

 Duriyprapan, S. and Britton, E.J. 1982. The effect of solar radiation on plant growth, oil yield and oil quality of Japanese mint. Journal of Botany, 58: 729-736. Faiz Mohsin. 2005. Effect of litterfall of short rotation trees on herbage and oil yield of aromatic plants under agroforestry system. Indian Journal Agroforestry, 7(1): 25-31. Gill, S.S. 2006. Crop cultivation under tree canopy. In: Chauhan, Sanjeev K.; Gill, S.S.; Khajuria, H.N. and Chauhan, Rajni Eds. Production technology and management of agroforestry models. Udaipur, Geeta Somani Agrotech. pp. 77-86. Jadhav, B.B. and Thaware, B.L. 2003. Scope for intercropping of medicinal plants in agroforestry systemsin Konkan region. I. In: National Symposium on Agroforestry in 21st Century. Ludhiana, February, 11-14, 2003, Abstracts. Ludhiana, P.A.U. p. 23. Jaiswal, S.C.; Mishra ,V.K. and Verma, K.S. 1993. Intercropping ginger and turmeric with poplar. Agroforestry Systems, 22: 111-117. Rao, N.V. 1986. Annual progress report of the ICAR Research Complex for N.E.H. Region, Shillong, ICAR Research Complex for N.E.H. Region. Rousseva, E.D. 1970. Effect of light of different spectral regions on the growth and tarpene biosynthesis in Mentha piperata L. competes. Rendus De L. Academic Des. Sciences Aricoles Evi. Bulgaria 3: 5-9 Sharma, A.K. and Bhojvaid, P.P. 2004. Agro-mediculture models for sustainable diversified farming in Haryana and Uttranchal. In: National Workshop on Agroforestry. Panchkula, 22-24 November 2004, Abstracts and papers. Panchkula, Haryana Forest Department. pp. 125-134. Singh, K; Chauhan, H.S.; Rajput, D.K. and Singh, D.V. 1989. Report of a 60 month study in litter production, changes in soil chemical properties and productivity under poplar (P. deltoides) and eucalyptus (e. hybrid) interplanted with aromatic grasses. Agroforestry Systems, 9: 37-45. Singh, K; Ram, P; Singh, A.K. and Husain, A. 1988. Poplar (Populus deltoides Batr. Ex Marsh) in forest and agroforestry systems. Indian Forester, 114(1): 814-818. Singh, K; Singh, V; Husain, A. and Kothari, S.K. 1990. Aromatic plants as efficient intercrop under poplar (Populus deltoides Bartram Ex Marshall.). Indian Forester, 116(3): 189-193. Tewari, D.N. 1993. Poplar. Dehradun, Surya Publication. 321p. Tewari, R.K.S.; Shambharkar, V.B.; Singh, V. and Ojha, B.M. 2004. Studies on the distribution pattern of medicinal plants of Chhattisgarh Forest Division. Indian Journal Agroforestry, 6 (2): 79-88. Vishnu Dutt and Thakur, P.S. 2004. Bio-economics of cropping systems combining medicinal

and aromatic herbs with commercial timber tree species. Indian Journal of Agroforestry, 6 (10): 1-7. Yadav, A.K. 1999. Effect of spacing and fertility levels on lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) under poplar based agroforestry system.Advances in Forestry Research in India, 20: 70-85. Yadav, Y.K. 2000. Cultivation of lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus CKP-25) under poplar based agroforestry. Indian Forestry,127(2): 213-223.

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MEDICINAL PLANTS DIVERSITY WITHIN TARKESHWAR SACRED GROVE IN GARHWAL HIMALAYA

Savita Bisht and J.C. Ghildiyal
Dr. P.D.B. H. Government Post Graduate College, Kotdwara - 246 149

Introduction

he sacred groves are patches of forests containing vegetation and other forms of life and

geographical features that are protected and managed by local communities with social and religious beliefs. There are many folklores, myths and historical contexts regarding recognition of Tarkeshwar, Uttarakhand as a place of peoples belief, which establishes it as sacred grove. Such sacred groves harbour many rare and endangered plant species with many important medicinal plants as local ayurvedic plants. Sacred groves, in general act as a nursery and storehouse of many of the local ayurvedic, tribal and folk medicines (Bhakat and Pandit, 2003). Tarkeshwar sacred grove is recognized by 85 villages nearby and their inhabitants offer the first

harvest of their new crop to the deity of the grove (Bisht and Ghildiyal, 2007). The villagers believe that unhappiness of Tarkeshwar Mahadev is the cause of many diseases. The ethnic uses of plants species of Garhwal Himalayas have been documented by Uniyal (1968), Gaur et al. (1980), Aswal (1993 and 1996) and Ghildiyal et al. (2006) but there is less information regarding ethnobotanical wealth of sacred groves in Uttarakhand. The present paper enumerates of medicinal plants used by local people in Tarkeshwar sacred grove in Garhwal Himalaya.

Study Area
Tarkeshwar sacred grove is situated at 29o5005' N latitude and 78o4735 E longitude in Rikhnikhal block of Lansdowne tehsil of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand state. It is situated at an altitude that range of 1650 -1800 metres above mean sea level covering a total area of 825.50 hectare. Tarkeshwar forest is named after a centrally located temple which is a pious shrine of lord Shiva known as Tarkeshwar or Tarasar Mahadev. The area is classified as reserve forest through notification no. 227/14-118 dated 24.03.1915.

Methodology
The area of Tarkeshwar was visited at a regular interval of one month and plants were collected from the area with the help of local inhabitants. The collected plants were identified botanically with the help of Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehradun, Saharanpur Forest Divisions (Kanjilal, 1928), Flora of Upper Gangetic plains (Duthie, 1960), Flora of Mussoorie (Raizada and Saxena, 1978), Flowers of the Himalaya vol. I and II (Polunin and Stainton, 1984), Flora of District Garhwal: North West Himalaya (Gaur, 1999). Table 1. Medicinal plants found in Tarkeshwar sacred grove S.no. Species 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Abrus precatorius L. Medicinal use(s) Rooted seed powder used as an obortifacient; seed paste applied on plaster for bone fracture. Decoction of roots used in fever, cough, rheumatic arthritis and dysentery Decoction of plant given in catarrh and throat pain; plant juice also used in asthma, fever and constipation Leaf juice applied on cuts and wounds and paste plastered on bone fracture .In olden days fibre used to manufacture coarse cloth for sacs and mats; the fibre is also used to burn the fire Plants extract applied on cuts and wounds; plants juice applied on breast and believed to increase lactation Plant with the roots of Thalictrum foliolosum, made into paste and applied on sores, cuts and various skin ailments

Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. Gerbera gossypina (Royle) G. Beauv Ganiphalium hypoleucum DC . Ageratum conyzoides L. Anaphalis busua (Buch.-Ham. Ex Leaf juice applied on bruises, wounds and cuts D. Don) DC Artemisia nilgirica Leaf juice used against intestinal worms ; young twigs made into brooms; plants

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

Pampanini Cirsium verutum (D. Don) Sprengel. Echinops echinatus Roxb. Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. Eupatorium adenophorumSprengel. Gerbera gossypina (Royle) G. Beauv. Ganiphalium hypoleucum DC . Inula cappa (Buch.Ham. ex D. Don) DC Senecio graciliflorous DC. Siegesbeckia orientalis L. Sonchus brachyotus DC Tagetes erecta L. Tagetes patula L. Tridax procumbens Linn. Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. Achyranthes aspera L. Achyranthes bidentata Blume Aerva sanguinolenta (L.) Blume Amaranthus spinosus L. Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet, Hort. Sida cordifolia L.

regarded as sacred Root juice taken in constipation and dyspepsia and externally applied in chest pain Roots edible; root extract given to infants to promote emergence of teeth: root juice given in fever and urinary troubles Decoction of plant given in catarrh and throat pain; plant juice also used in asthma, fever and constipation Crushed leaves applied on wounds Leaf juice applied on cuts and wounds and paste plastered on bone fracture .In olden days fibre used to manufacture coarse cloth for sacs and mats; the fibre is also used to burn the fire Plants extract applied on cuts and wounds; plants juice applied on breast and believed to increase lactation Roots given in suppressed urination Plant paste applied on insect bites and ringworm disease; juice of head dropped in pussed ear; plant believed to be poisonous to cattle Decoction of plant with rice water taken in diarrhoea and bowel complaints Roots used in the folk medicine against cough and bronchitis; young shoots and leaves as vegetable in famine Flower paste often applied on the wounds and cuts; leaf juice dropped in otalgia Leaf powder used as an insect repellent and paste used in skin ailments Occasionally leaves cooked as vegetable; paste of the plant used to heal the wounds and cuts Leaf extract used in dysentery; seeds in cough and cold Root infusion taken in malarial fever: leaf extract supposed to facilitate delivery: root powder used in making local beverage: plant decoction used in dropsy and bronchitis Similar to A. Aspera Plant used as diuretic and demulcent Leaves used for vegetable: infusion of leaves with salt is given in dysmenorrhoea; plant also used as fodder Stem yields a coarse fibre. Decoction of leaves and bark given in fever and dysuria. Stem yields a coarse fibre; seed powder given in dyspepsia; roots astringent, diuretic and tonic

28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

33.

34. 35. 36. 37. 38.

39.

40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

Leaf paste applied externally on boils and joints pain, fibre obtained from stem used for ropes Stem yields a coarse fibre; flowers expectorant; root paste applied on body pain and Urena lobata L. in rheumatism Rooted seed powder used as an obortifacient; seed paste applied on plaster for bones Abrus precatorius L. fracture. Decoction of roots used in fever, cough, rheumatic arthritis and dysentery Wood commercially well known for construction and furniture; leaves lopped for Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. fodder. The resin used in skin ailments; an important tree of social forestry Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. Roots astringent and tonic , used in fever and dysentery Prodr. Desmodium heterocarpon (L.) DC. Decoction of leaves used in cough Prodr. Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC. Plants browsed by cattle Prodr. Indigofera heterantha Flowers used as vegetables ; leaves lopped for fodder ; twigs made into baskets or Wallichex Brandis containers. Leaf juice taken in diarrhoea, dysentery and cough Macrotyloma Seeds comprise an important pulse; tender parts and leaves used as fodder. Leaf juice uniflorum (Lam.) poured in ear in otalgia; decoction of seeds given in renal calculi and in leucorrhoea Verdc. Allioini Melilotus Roasted seeds given in diarrhoea and dysentery; plant used as fodder indica (L.) Ougeinia Twigs lopped for fodder; timber used for various purposes, particularly for making oojeinensis (Roxb.) vessels; bark extract used to intoxicate fishes; gum used in digestive troubles. Quite Hochreutiner useful for bee- forage and soil conservation; and also acts as soil binder Piptanthus Green pods chewed raw; ripe seeds cooked as vegetables and extract used as nepalensis (Hook) galactogogue .Leaf juice dropped in pussed ear D.Don Young twigs made into vegetables, supposed to be good for cough and cold .The Adhatoda juice of flowers useful in pulmonary affections; leaves and roots infusion useful in zeylanica Medibus. bronchitis and fever ; flowers as a source of bee-forage Root decoction used against bronchitis and pneumonia; leaves and root paste applied Barleria cristata L. on wound- swelling; root chips added to local beverages; seeds regarded as antidote to snake bite; flowers as a source of bee-forage; plants act as soil binder Barleria prionitis L. Root and bark used in indigenous medicine for cough and cold Dicliptera Leaf paste applied on wounds to check bleeding ; leaf juice useful in cough and bupliroides Nees. Nees, gastro-enteritis Justicia procumbens L. Common on moist shady localities .erect, slender, much branched herbs, flowers pale var simplex (D.Don) -purple Yamazaki Sida rhombifolia L.

45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52.

Lepidagathis cuspidata Nees. Ajuga bracteosa Wallich ex Benth. Anisomeles indica (L.) Kuntze. Colebrooka oositifolia J.E Smith. Hyptis suaveolens (L. Poiteau,) Leucas cephalotes (Roth) Sprengel. Leucus lanata Benth

Root powder with milk used in fever; flowers as a source of bee - forage Leaf extract used in malarial fever; bitter plant extract as a tonic, astringent and febrifuge Plant extract used as carminative and astringent; root powder with milk or extract given to avoid nocturnal emission Leaf paste applied on wounds; dried leaves as adulterant to tobacco; flowers an important source of bee-forage in apiculture Leaf juice as anthelmintic and powder used in local beverage Poultice of leaves applied on wounds and sores Plant infusion given with honey in the treatment of whooping cough; young shoots cooked as vegetable

53. 54.

55.

56.

57. 58. 59. 60. 61.

Micromeria Flavour of crushed leaves inhaled in cold and sinusitis; extract of leaves with milk biflora (Buch.-Ham. Ex given in gastroenteritis D. Don) Benth Nepeta hindostana (Roth) Plant yields cardiac tonic, also given in fever and gonorrhoea Haines. Leaves used as flovouring agent and in making sauce, also as an insecticide; seeds Ocimum basilium L. medicinal in fever, cough and cold It is regarded as a sacred plant , worshipped and used in several religious ceremonies; plant highly medicinal for fever, cold and cough; colitis, urinary Ocimum tenuiflorum L. troubles and vomiting; believed to be instant remedy of all types of disorders; often conserved Pogostemon Leaf extract with water given in colic and fever; flowers important source of beebenghalense(Burm.f.) forage; plant is a good soil binder Kuntze. Seeds and bark used in diarrhoea, dysentery, eye complaints and in piles; gum Albizia lebbeck (L.) exuded used in ulcer/flowers as source of bee-forage, leaves provide palatable fodder Benth to cattle, wood for various articles Plant paste or extract used in leprosy, dropsy and cerebral affections; also used to Anagallis arvensis L. detach leeches from the body Anemone Paste of leaves applied externally on forehead in headache. Leaf juice applied on rivularis Buch- Ham. wounds, sores and earache in local therapy Ex. DC. Bupleurum Roots used in stomach and liver disorders; plants browsed by cattle hamiltoniiBalakrishnan. Centella asiastica (L) Plant juice or powder used in the treatment of mental disorders and as a blood urban. purifier; herb regarded as a tonic and diuretic ; leaf paste applied for skin diseases

including leprosy 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. Aquilegia pubiylora Wallich ex Royle. Capsella bursapastoris (L.) Medikus Lepidium sativum L. Nasturtinum officinale R. Br. Arisaema concinnum Asparagus adscendens Buch.Ham. ex. Roxb. Asparagus racemosus Willd Tall. Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell Lindenbergia indica (L.) Vathe Mazus pumilus (Burm.f.)Van steenis. Verbascum thapsus L Baliespermum montanum(Willd.) Muell-Arg. Euphorbia hypericifelia L. Jatropha curcas L. Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell - Arg. Bauhinia purpurea L. Cassia fistula L. Herb used in folk medicine as febrifuge, although believed to be poisonous Root and leaf extract taken in gonorrhoea and urinary troubles; plant paste applied on cuts and wounds; young plants occasionally used as pot herb Young plant or leaves cooked as vegetables; seeds as condiments; browsed by cattle and goats. Seeds poultice applied over sprains and body swellings Young plant taken as green vegetable, supposed to be good for constipation. Herb used in goitre and also as vermifuge Paste of berries externally applied as antidote in snake bite; extract of tuber used to induce vomiting, excessive amount believed to be poisonous The tuberous roots are picked; young shoots eaten as vegetables; ripe fruits said to cause abortion. Tuber with honey given in dysuria, diabetes and dysentery Roots aphrodisiac, antiseptic, refrigerant, often used with fresh water or milk, root decoction with jaggery used as an abortifacient Plant paste applied externally for rheumatic pains, extract with milk said to improve intellect and memory, also used in epilepsy Leaves used in bronchitis , poultice applied on cuts and wounds Leaf poultice applied on burns ; infusion of plant with Zinger extract given in colic Plant extract taken in bronchitis and asthma; seeds used as narcotic; Plant extract also used in fish- poisoning; rarely flowers used as dye Seeds used as purgative, substitute of Jamalghota; seed oil externally applied in rheumatic pains; leaf and root decoction given in jaundice and bronchial diseases Leaf infusion given in folk remedy for dysentery, diarrhoea and menorrhagia Seed oil medicinal as anthelmintic and applied externally in rheumatism as well as skin disorders Powder of fruits also used as anthelmintic and purgative; seeds oil substitute of Tung oil used in various industries; wood for rafters, match boxes and as a fuel; flowers as an occasional sources of bee- forage Flowers buds cooked as vegetables and foliage used as fodder; wood used for agricultural implements. Bark used in dyeing and tanning, as well as in medicine as detergent of wounds Fruits and bark medicinally used as an antiseptic; antidote of snake and scorpion bite; fruit pulp in asthma, bronchitis and skin diseases

77. 78.

79. 80. 81. 82. O 83. 84. 85. 86. 87.

Cassia occidentalis L Begonia picta Smith Benincasa hispida (Thnb.) Cogniaun. Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrader Coccinia grandis (L.) Vagt Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.) Gandhi Berberis aristata DC.

Leaves used in skin diseases; fruits believed to be an antidote of snake bite; decoction of riit given in dropsy; Leaf and root paste useful in piles , boils and ringworms Decoction of plant in boiled water given in colic and dyspepsia; young leaves occasionally cooked as vegetable Fruits cooked with rice and eleusnie coracana, administered to increase sexual cycles in cattle; seeds given in gonorrhoea ccasionally used as vegetables; fruits and seeds used in indigenous medicines as an expectorant and diuretic; roots beneficial in jaundice Leaves and root juice given in diabetes; leaves also supposed to be antiseptic; fruit juice given in gonorrhoea Roots and seeds given in digestive troubles; seed mixed with leaf extract of Vasik, believed to cause abortion Juice from bark of stem or root often known as ' Rasaut' dropped in ophthalmia. Infusion of root given in fever

88. 89 90.

91.

92.

93. 94.

Berberis asiatica Roxb. Root extract in ophthalmia; fruits edible. Wood and bark yield yellow dye ex DC Fairly Ripe fruits edible, also made into sauce. Bark and roots orally taken to relieve Berberis lycium jaundice and mennorrhagia. Bark of stem or root yields 'Rasaut' used for eye RoyleSaxifraguceae ailments Berginia Supposed to be highly medicinal; rhizomatous part used as tonic- and febrifuge; also ciliata (Haworth) used in digestive, and cutaneous disorders; dried leaves adulterated with tea Sternberg. Boehmeria Wood often used for vessels, combs, boxes, cups and other articles; leaves provide rugulasa Wedd. good palatable fodder; plaster of bark applied on fractured- bones Debregeasia Plant provides good fodder; bark yields strong fibre for rope and cordages; fruits saliciyolia (D.Don) edible; plaster made from the bark for bone- fracture Rendle. Stem yields strong -shining fibre, used for sacs, ropes and mats; young branches and leaves used as delicious pot herb; seeds oil edible as well as medicinal in sciatica, Urtica dioica L. rheumatism and several skin ailments, hair- wash from leaf extract believed to avoid baldness Boeminghausenia Leaf paste applied on cuts and wounds, root powder used as antiseptic and juice albiflora(Hook.) given in vomiting and dysentery Reichb. ex Meisn Leaves and tender shoots occasionally made into vegetable; roots chewed as energy Boerhavia diffusa L. tonic. Leaf extract used in eye complaints; infusion of plants used in asthma and bronchitis Bombax ceiba L Flower buds as vegetables ; fibre of seeds (kapok) used for stuffing cushions and

pillows; wood light in weight used for packing cases, boats , mach sticks etc. Gum exuded from stem medicinal aphrodisiac, also to relieve digestive disorders 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. Bryophillum Leaves supposed to be poisonous; poultice of leaves used to wounds and bruises pinnatum (Lam.) Oken Leaf extract used in skin diseases; roots used as an abortifacient; stem made into Buddleja asiatica Lour walking sticks; flowers important source of bee- forage; plant is a good soil binder Callicarpa Fruits edible, useful in oral aphthae; leaves after heating applied externally on macrophylla Vahl rheumatic pain flowers as source of bee- forage Clerodendrum Leaves bitter, used as vermifuge and in skin disease; stem rarely used as fuel viscosumVentenat Phyla nodiflora (L.) The plant is considered to bear cooling effects, extract often used in menstrual Greene complaints and fever Premna Wood used as fuel; the bark febrifuge, also applied to boils; browsed by goats mucronata Roxb. Branches used for baskets; dried leaves kept with stored grains as an insecticide; the leaves, fruits and roots are highly medicinal, used in rheumatism, arthelmintic, Vitex negundo L. analgestic; flowers as source of bee-forage in apiary; sometimes plant is used as bio fence Regarded as sacred plants by Hindus and the flowers offered to lord Shiva; bark of Calotropis gigantea roots used in dysentery and powder of flowers often taken with honey in cold, cough (L.) Dryander. and asthma Calotropis Stem fibre used for making rough nets; the soft floss of the seeds for stuffing pillows procera (Aiten) and cushion; the latex and root bark used as an expectorant; flowers in cold, cough Dryander and asthma The local conservation ethos among the communities has been greatly responsible for availability of medicinal plants in perpetuity. The sense of sustainable utilization of these resources among them shall go a long way towards ensuring sustainability of our ecosystems. Loss of faith in religion and tradition among new generation is creating threats to such type of well protected sacred groves. Keeping in mind the interest of modern people this sacred grove is developing as a picnic spot which may cause decline in the number of these plants. Therefore proper planning and care is to be taken to make people aware about the conservation values of the area and to ensure that these habitats are not damaged.

101.

102.

103.

References
Aswal, B.S.1993. Rare or threatened medicinal plants of Garhwal Himalaya and their conservation. In: Rajwar, G.S. Ed. Garhwal Himalaya ecology and enviornment. New Delhi, Ashish Publishing House. pp. 99-105. Aswal, B.S.1996. Conservation of ethno-medical plants diversity of Garhwal Himalaya in India. In: Jain, S.K. Ed. Ethnobiology in human welfare. New Delhi, Deep Publications. pp. 133135.

 Bhakat, R.K. and Pandit, P.K. 2003. Role of sacred grove in conservation of medicinal plants. Indian Forester, 129(2): 224-232. Bisht, Savita and Ghildiyal, J. C. 2007. Conservation of sacred groves for biodiversity conservation in Uttarakhand Himalaya. Current Science, 92(6): 711-712. Duthie, J.F. 1960. Flora of upper Gangatic plains of adjacent Shiwalik and sub-Himalayan tract. Vol. I and II. Calcutta, Govt. Press. Gaur, R. D. 1999. Flora of district Garhwal: North west Himalaya. Srinagar, Trans Media. Gaur, R.D.; Sharma, M.P. and Semwal, J.K. 1980. Ethno toxic plants of Garhwal hills in India. East Anthrop. 33:159-163. Ghildiyal, J.C.; Sadana, Geeta; Uniyal, K.M.; Bebni, Diwakar and Bebni, Prabhakar. 2006. Ethno-medicinal uses of plants by the Gujjars of foot hills of Uttaranchal. Journal of Mountain Research. 1:115-121. Kanjilal, Upendranath. 1928. Forest flora of the Chakrata, Dehradun and Saharanpur forest divisions, Uttar Pradesh, 3rd ed. Delhi, Manager of Publications. 593p. Polunin, O. and Stainton, A. 1984. Flowers of the Himalaya, vol I and II. New Delhi, Oxford University Press. Raizada, M.B. and Saxena, H.O. 1978. Flora of Mussoorie. Dehradun, Bishan Singh and Mahendra Pal Singh. Uniyal, M.R.1968. Medicinal plants of Bhagirathi valley lying in Uttarkashi Forest Division. Indian Forester, 94: 407-420.

Global Warming May Affect World Agriculture

Global warming could send world agriculture into serious decline within this century, and the hardest hit will be developing countries like India and most of Africa and Latin America, a new study has suggested. Developing countries, many with average temperatures that are already near or above crop tolerance levels, are predicted to suffer an average a 10 25 per cent decline in agricultural productivity by the 2080s, said the studys author William Cline, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. India could see a drop of 30-40 per cent in its agricultural production, while poorer nations like Sudan and Senegal are projected to suffer by as much as 56 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.

On the other hand, rich countries in colder climes could experience an increase in productivity by up to 8 per cent according to the findings. (Courtesy: The Financial Express, 14 September, 2007)

AYURVEDA AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW

Bhushan Patwardhan1, Dnyaneshwar Warude1, P. Pushpangadan2 and Narendra Bhatt3
Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Pune, Pune 411 007 National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow 226 001 and Zandu Pharmaceutical Ltd., Mumbai 400 025

Introduction

yurveda, the traditional Indian medicine (TIM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

remain the most ancient yet living traditions. These are the two great traditions with sound philosophical, experiential and experimental basis. Increased side effects, lack of curative treatment for several chronic diseases, high cost of new drugs, microbial resistance and emerging diseases are some reasons for renewed public interest in complementary and alternative medicines (1). It has been postulated that by 2010 at least two-thirds of the United States population will be using one or more of the alternative therapeutic approaches. Use of indigenous drugs of natural origin forms a major part of such therapies; more than 1500 herbals are sold as dietary supplements or ethnic traditional medicines (2). Pharmaceutical companies have renewed their strategies in favor of natural product drug development and discovery (3). For instance, in Europe, AnalytiCon Discovery has stressed on drug discovery based on natural product chemistry (4). In the Asia-Pacific region, MerLion Pharmaceuticals in Singapore has comprehensive structures and capabilities necessary for natural product-based drug discovery (5). China has successfully promoted its own therapies over the globe with a science-based approach. Growing popularity of TCM can be evidenced by the rapid increase in number of licensed Chinese medicine providers in the United States. The Chinese government has pledged to create several export-oriented TCM giants in the coming years (6). Continuous efforts in promotion of the indigenous therapies by China have put TCM in a commendable position. Global acceptance of Ayurveda is gearing up and there has been a steep rise in the demand for medicinal plants from India (7). The Pharmaceutical Research and Development Committee report of Ministry of Chemicals, Government of India also underscores the importance of traditional knowledge (8). The increasing use of traditional therapies demands more scientifically sound evidence for the principles behind therapies and for effectiveness of medicines. Recent advancements in the analytical and biological sciences, along with innovations in genomics and

proteomics can play an important role in validation of these therapies. Western scientific community views traditional medicines cautiously and stress the concerns related to research, development and quality (9,10). This review delineates the challenges that TCM and TIM need to address to become more acceptable to the world community. Global Markets, Regulations and Acceptance The global pharmaceutical market was worth US $550 billion in 2004 (11) and is expected to exceed US $900 billion by the year 2008. The herbal industry shares about US $62 billion with good growth potential. The World Bank reports trade in medicinal plants, botanical drug products and raw materials is growing at an annual growth rate between 5 and 15 per cent (12). Within the European community, botanical medicine represents an important share of the pharmaceutical market (13); the nutraceutical sector is also growing rapidly. In 2001, US $17.8 billion was spent in the United States on dietary supplements, US $4.2 billion of it for botanical remedies (14). In India the value of botanicals related trade is about US $10 billion per annum with annual export of US $1.1 billion (15) while Chinas annual herbal drug production is worth US $48 billion with export of US $3.6 billion (16). Presently, the United States is the largest market for Indian botanical products accounting for about 50 per cent of the total exports. Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore are the major importer of TCM taking 66 per cent share of Chinas botanical drugs export (17). Globally, there have been concerted efforts to monitor quality and regulate the growing business of herbal drugs and traditional medicine. Health authorities and governments of various nations have taken an active interest in providing standardized botanical medications.United States Congress has fuelled rapid growth in the nutraceutical market with passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently published the International Conference on Harmonization guidance Common Technical Document addressing concerns related to quality of medicines that also includes herbals (18). The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has been inaugurated as the United States Federal Governments lead agency for scientific research in this arena of medicine. Its mission is to explore complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, support sophisticated research, train researchers, disseminate information to the public on the modalities that work and explain the scientific rationale underlying discoveries. The center is committed to explore and fund all such therapies for which there is sufficient preliminary data, compelling public health need and ethical justifications (19,20). World Health Organization (WHO) is keen regarding traditional medicine and has been active in creating strategies, guidelines and standards of botanical medicines (21). The global scenario illustrates vividly both promise and challenges presented by the traditional medicines. India needs to identify the extent to which Ayurvedic therapeutics is safe and effective so that it could get wide global acceptance. Basic Principles: TIM and TCM Ayurveda and TCM have many commonalities. The focus of both the systems is on the patient rather than disease. Both systems fundamentally aim to promote health and enhance the quality of life, with therapeutic strategies for treatment of specific diseases or symptoms in holistic fashion. Almost half of the botanical sources used as medicines have similarities; moreover, both systems have similar philosophies geared towards enabling classification of individuals,

materials and diseases. TCM considers the human at the center of the universe as an antenna between celestial and earthly elements. Water, earth, metal, wood and fire are the five elements of the material world. The world is a single unit and its movement gives rise to yin and yang, the two main antithetic aspects. The actual meaning of the term yin and yang is opposites, such as the positive and the negative. However, Chinese believe that yin and yang is not absolute but relative. Consistent with the modern view of homeostasis, yin and yang are interchanged to meet the view that yang declines and yin rises or yang is raised to produce a decline of yin. The four bodily humors (qi, blood, moisture and essence) and internal organ systems (zang fu) play an important role in balancing the yin and yang in human body. Proper formation, maintenance and circulation of these energies are essential for health. When the two energies fall out of harmony, disease develops. The physician takes into account this concept while treating patients. Drugs or herbs are used to correct this imbalance of yinyang in the human body (22,23). Ayurveda considers that the universe is made up of combinations of the five elements (pancha mahabhutas). These are akasha (ether), vayu (air), teja (fire), aap (water) and prithvi (earth). The five elements can be seen to exist in the material universe at all scales of life and in both organic and inorganic things. In biological system, such as humans, elements are coded into three forces, which govern all life processes. These three forces (kapha, pitta and vata) are known as the three doshas or simply the tridosha. Each of the doshas is composed of one or two elements. Vata is composed of space and air, Pitta of fire, and kapha of water and earth. Vata dosha has the mobility and quickness of space and air; pitta dosha the metabolic qualities of fire; kapha dosha the stability and solidity of water and earth. The tridosha regulates every physiological and psychological process in the living organism. The interplay among them determines the qualities and conditions of the individual. A harmonious state of the three doshas creates balance and health; an imbalance, which might be an excess (vriddhi) or deficiency (kshaya), manifests as a sign or symptom of disease (24,25) (Figs 1 and 2).

Fig. 1. Basic principles of TCM

Fig. 2. Basic principles of TIM: relation of pancha mahabhutas and tridosha

Determinants of Success
Quality of the Botanical Drugs Consistency in composition and biological activity are essential requirements for the safe and effective use of therapeutic agents. Quality is the critical determinant of safety and efficacy of botanical medicines; however, botanical preparations rarely meet the standards of quality, which refers to procedures and markers for assessing and verifying the strength of botanical raw materials or extracts or formulations thereof (26). Chromatographic techniques and chemical marker assisted characterization of the botanicals does not ensure consistent biological activity or stability (27). Therefore, production of quality botanical medicines has become a challenge to regulatory authorities, scientific organizations and manufacturers. WHO (28), USFDA (29), European Scientific Cooperative on Phytomedicine (ESCOP) (30) have published standard sets of guidelines to address the concerns. Some of the progressive manufacturers follow them to provide standardized botanical medicine. In India, about 9000 licensed units manufacture traditional medicines with or without proper standardization (31). Indian manufacturers generally follow WHO guidelines for quality control. Adulteration of market samples remains a major problem in domestic and export markets of Indian herbal products. Chemical analysis of some antiarthritic medicines from Ayurveda has led to a finding that synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs like phenylbutazone, indomethacin and/or corticosteroids have been added (32). Heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead contamination has also become a critical problem (33,34). Market botanicals are stored under undesirable conditions over the years and may have contamination or adulteration of other materials, which thereby adversely affect the efficacy and sometimes even add to toxicity. Lack of proper processing of the materials even by pharmaceutical firms contributes to decline of the herbal business. Availability of the desired genotype of plant in the required quantity, free from toxic contaminants and with desired therapeutic activity have contamination or adulteration of other materials, which thereby adversely affect the efficacy and sometimes even add to toxicity. Lack of proper processing of the materials even by pharmaceutical firms contributes to decline of the herbal business. Availability of the desired genotype of plant in the required quantity, free from toxic contaminants and with desired therapeutic activity have also become a critical issue (35). China has successfully overcome such difficulties by modernizing its traditional medicine profession with government-sponsored Good Agricultural Policies (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). GAPs stresses selection of the correct germplasm with high content of stable active components. The cultivation practices offer Standard Operating Procedures for use of fertilizers, irrigation systems and disease management allied with insects and pest prevention and cure. GAPs also establish standards for noxious and harmful contaminants like heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbes in plants. All manufactures of TCM are mandated to comply with guidelines laid down by Chinas State Drug Administration (SDA) by 2004 and farms producing raw ingredients must comply with SDA-imposed standards by 2007. As a result, 1470 companies have qualified for GMPs while 570 failed to meet the standards (36). For marketing of herbal medicine in China, special requirements such as quality dossier, safety and efficacy evaluation and specific labeling criteria are required. New herbal drugs must be approved according to the Drug Administration Laws.

Similar integrated efforts are needed to raise the image of Ayurvedic medicines in the global business. Government of India has promulgated GMP regulations for traditional systems of medicines to improve the quality and standard of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs in pharmacies. New rules delineating essential infrastructure, manpower and quality control requirements came into force from 2000 and form part of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (37). Licensing of Ayurvedic medicine is also governed under drug and cosmetics act, 1940. Ayurvedic Patent and Proprietary medicines need to contain only the ingredients mentioned in the recommended books as specified in the Act. For any new herbal medicine safety and efficacy data are mandatory. Depending on nature of herbs and market availability, different requirements exist for submission of clinical trial and safety data. Standardization of herbal drugs is not just an analytical operation for identification and assay of active principles; rather, it comprises total information and controls to necessarily guarantee consistent composition of all herbals. A good example of this is a polyherbal formulation (Artrex) designed for the treatment of arthritis that contains four botanicals. The formulation, standardized using modern scientific tools and with known markers, has been granted a US patent (38). Validated agro-industrial technologies should be applied for cultivation and processing of medicinal plants and manufacturing of herbal medicines. Indian herbal drug industry needs to ensure procurement of standardized authentic raw material free from toxic contaminants. Improving processing technologies, conducting all operations under GMP compliance and maintenance of in-process quality control for manufacturing quality herbal products also need evidence for therapeutic efficacy, safety and shelf life. Such approaches remain important in global promotion of Ayurveda. Government Policies In China and India formal training is an integral part of the national health program, which helps in ensuring quality standards in health care delivery. China became successful in integrating TCM in the national health care system. Science-based approaches were utilized and inculcated in the education of TCM with emphasis on research. Hospitals practicing TCM treat more than 200 million outpatients and almost 3 million inpatients annually. About 95 per cent of general hospitals in China have traditional medicine departments (39). Government of India also has expressed support and encouragement for the TIM. A separate department for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H) now known as AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy) was established in March 1995 to promote indigenous systems. Priorities include education, standardization of drugs, enhancement of availability of raw materials, research and development, information, communication and larger involvement in the national system for delivering health care. The Central Council of Indian Medicine oversees teaching and training institutes while Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha deals with interdisciplinary research. Some TIM products are being added into family welfare programs of the government under the World Bank project. These medicines are mainly for common diseases like anemia, edema during pregnancy, postpartum problems such as pain, uterine and abdominal complications, difficulties with lactation, nutritional deficiencies and childhood diarrhea (40). The government has also established 10 new drug testing laboratories for TIM and is upgrading existing laboratories to provide documented high quality evidence to licensing authorities for the safety and quality of herbal medicines. This

replaces the earlier ad hoc system of testing that was considered unreliable. In 2002, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has launched a research program under New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative scheme in Ayurveda identifying three disease areas such as arthritis, diabetes and hepatic disorders, which afflict large numbers of the Indian population. Many additional concerns need to be addressed. The quality of education in many colleges needs to be improved. Under the pretext of integration, attempts to make hybrid curricula producing inadequately trained graduates remain unacceptable for either modern or traditional systems (41). A paucity of funds is noticeable; ISM&H gets only 2 per cent of the total health budget of the nation. A corrective and promotive policy needs to be initiated for TIM to fully realize its potential and contribute more meaningfully to integrative health services. The industry has not been able to grow and develop optimally during the last few decades. Largely, the achieved growth is owing to industrys own initiatives, in-house research and development. A national organization, Ayurvedic Drugs Manufacturers Association is taking a proactive role to improve quality and research that needs to be nurtured, stimulated and sustained by providing special funding or incentives. Preparation of formularies and pharmacopoeial standards have been attempted but a lot remains to be done. Numbers of Indian botanical sources and their medicinal uses as in case of turmeric have been patented by claiming innovations that are already in the public domain. Necessary measures to protect such intellectual property are important as the retrieval and contesting of patents is a very costly and time-consuming affair (42). For this purpose, the Government of India has established a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library on traditional medicinal plants, which will also lead to a Traditional Knowledge Resource Classification (43). Linking this to internationally accepted International Patent Classification system will mean building the bridge between the knowledge contained in an old Sanskrit text and a patent examiner. This may control the problem of mistakingly granting patents since the examiner will know the Indian rights to that knowledge. It could integrate widely scattered and distributed references on TIM in retrievable form and will be a major impetus to modern research in the developing world. Research Natural products extracts of therapeutic relevance are of paramount importance as reservoirs of structural and chemical diversity. A recent review on national pharmacopoeias from several countries reveals at least 120 distinct chemical substances from different plants that have utility as lifesaving drugs (44). This has been achieved through chemical and pharmacological screening of only 6 per cent of the total plant species. Untapped, hidden wealth in the flora needs to be unearthed and explored to cure diseases like AIDS, cancer, diabetes, etc. Recently, NIH has started extensive research for anti-inflammatory compounds from turmeric, ginger and boswellia with the aid of Ayurvedic knowledge. Screening of different plants for novel anticancer compounds is also in progress with reference experiential data from traditional systems (45). Botanical immunodrugs from traditional medicine can provide newer opportunities to bioprospect diverse and synergistic chemical moieties, which in combination might act on multiple targets and improve the therapeutic spectrum (46). PUBMED, Google scholar and Science direct are the widely recognized web databases of scientific literature. We have given comparative citations for Indian and Chinese medicine using different key words and also provided the patent data of USPTO. Visibility of Ayurvedic medicine remains much lower as

compared with TCM (Table 1). Table 1. Medicinal plants found in Tarkeshwar sacred grove Databases Key words:TIM Ayurvedic PubMed medicine TIM Ayurvedic Science Direct medicine TIM Ayurvedic Google scholar medicine TIM Ayurvedic US patent granted medicine/TIM Ayurvedic US patent filed medicine/TIM Citations/patents Key words:TCM Citations/patents 1045 361 87 77 4220 32 900 3 26 Chinese medicine 10 278 TCM 6847

Chinese medicine 990 TCM 612

Chinese medicine 476 000 TCM Chinese medicine/TCM Chinese medicine/TCM 68 300 195 259

Chinese medicine became successful in crossing philosophical barriers through constant reworking of the basic system. The first compound derived from Chinese herbal remedies to enter the western market was ephedrine, an amphetamine-like stimulant from ma huang (Ephedra sinica). The next was artimisinin, a potent antimalarial from qinghao (Artemisia annua). In 2003, Chinese researchers launched a phase II trial to test the efficacy of a drug called kanglaite from iijen (Coix lachryma-jobi) for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (47). This is the first drug from TCM to enter clinical trials in the United States. Other drug molecules from TCM are xue baoPG2 (general tonic from Astragalus membracaceus) and camptothecin analogs as CPT11 and topotecan (anticancer from Camptotheca accuminata), which have a huge market. In 2002, 1141 different traditional plant drugs were registered for their therapeutic activities including several new single compounds from plants as arteannuin (antimalarial), indirubin (anticancer), etc. One of the twelve focal points in the current Five-Year Plan of Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology is to modernize research in TCM. Pharmacopoeia of the Peoples Republic of China (2000) (48) contains 992 monographs of Chinese crude drugs and traditional Chinese patent medicines in which 76 new admissions and 248 monographs have been revised. Controlled clinical trials have been initiated at several hospitals and research organizations to prove the efficacy and safety of the Chinese medicine (49,50). Recent reports on adverse effects of drug like ma huang (51) and gingko (52) have sounded a cautionary note that promoting traditional medicine from conception to commercialization will not be easy. India has world-class expertise and facilities for organic synthesis, isolation and structure elucidation, biological screening, toxicological testing and pharmacokinetics. This is supplemented by the expertise for development of agro-technology for cultivation of medicinal plants. Industry participation to ensure successful upscaling and implementation of technology is increasing. Generation of leads with structural diversities through creation of natural product

libraries, identification of proper targets and their proper validation and optimization is of paramount importance (53). India has progressive research institutes like Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and National Botanical Research Institute at Lucknow, Regional Research Laboratories (RRL), at Jammu, Bhubaneshwar and Jorhat, National Chemical Laboratory at Pune, which routinely undertake research on medicinal plants. Most of them are involved in standardizing the herbal medicines and isolating active compounds. Few selected crops have been taken for improvement yet there is a need for research on quality planting materials for farmers, conservation of endangered species and to prevent exploitation of the natural resources. Reserpine (antihypertensive from rauwolfia) is an extremely valuable contribution from Ayurvedic systems. Curcumin (54) (antiinflammatory from turmeric), withaferin A (55) (anti-inflammatory from ashwagandha), kutkoside (56) (hepatoprotective from kutki), andrographolide (57) (hepatoprotective from andrographis) and vasicine (58) (bronchodilator and expectorant from vasaka) are chemical entities with attractive scaffolds for drug discovery. Controlled clinical trials are important to develop evidence for safety and efficacy. Results from clinical trials are encouraging (59), but lot more clinical research is required to establish validity of the system. Ayurvedic preparations have been successfully evaluated for treatment of bronchial asthma (60,61), rheumatoid arthritis (62), ischaemic heart disease (63,64). Piperine from pipali has come out as a bioenhancer in recent clinical evaluation (65,66). Botanicals like Withania somnifera (67); Asparagus racemosus (68) have exhibited significant vaccine adjuvant activity in experimental systems, which have valuable applications in immunobiological industry. An IND application of Lupin Ltd. is in process and a US patent has been granted for development of herbal-based antipsoriatic composition containing Argemone mexicana (69). Standardized fraction of gugulipid from Commiphora wightii developed by CDRI has been marketed (Guglip, Cipla Ltd) for treating hyperlipidemia and atheriosclerosis (70). RRL Jammu has commercialized Boswellia serrata gum resin as NSAID (Non-Steroidal AntiInflammatory Drug) (Sallaki Gufic). It is also hypolipidemic. A multicentric study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) showed promising results that a preparation from Pterocarpus marsupium was effective in reducing levels of blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (71). Analysis of most frequently used plant based therapies in Ayurvedic system revealed that 43 per cent of them have been tested on humans while 62 per cent have been the subject of one or more animal studies. Among these drugs having sufficient clinical data are guggul, brahmi, ashwagandha, amlaki, guduchi, kutki, shatavari and shunthi (72) Pharmacopoeia of India (1996) (73) covers few botanical monographs like clove, guggul, opium, mentha,senna, and ashwagandha. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India gives monographs for 258 different Ayurvedic drugs. The standards mentioned are quite inadequate to build quality of the botanical materials (74). Indian Drug Manufacturers Association has published Indian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (2002) (75) with 52 monographs on widely used medicinal plants growing in India where scientific data have been incorporated. Harmonization and validation of the complex process of Ayurvedic therapeutics remain important. Novel efforts like Ayugenomics (76) aim to understand Ayurvedic concept of Prakruti from pharmcogenomics perspective to provide a base for human classification, diagnostics and

customized medicine (77). Projects like AyuSoft (78) aim to develop intelligent and interactive software based on Ayurvedic classics as a decision support system. New analytical approaches like Herboprint (79) use three-dimensional HPLC and attempt to develop tools for activity-based standardization of botanicals. Supporting Systems Apart from the drug manufacturer, many other supporting industries play important roles in commerce of traditional medicine. The whole pipeline covers collectors and breeders, dealers of the plant materials, processing and manufacturing industry, practitioners of traditional medicine and finally the consumers. Presently, Indian systems of medicine use more than 1100 medicinal plants of which most are collected from the wild. More than 60 species are in great demand (80). The tribal belt of India is rich in these plants and the tribes mainly depend on this trade for livelihood. There are ample of opportunities for adulteration and contamination in the process. Thus, the adequate availability of quality raw materials free from adulterants at reasonable prices have become a big problem for industry and the demand is increasing every year. However, very few efforts have been made either by government or by industry to seriously study the supply and demand. Similar to China, India needs to follow GAPs to ensure the use of correct raw materials and cover the entire life cycle including the harvesting, processing, transportation and storage. Chinese government has developed more than 100 research units and encouraged private enterprises to build over 600 standard planting bases for herbs in great demand. Selection of the correct germplasm using modern DNA fingerprinting and chemoprofiling techniques is also a priority (81). India is emerging as a leader in generic drugs and is exporting them to developed countries. This is a result of adopting standard guidelines and GMPs. However, TIM has yet to capitalize on the quality herbal medicine where GAPs are. New experiments are beginning to emerge on benefit sharing models for indigenous innovation. For example, Trichopus zeylanicus, found in the tropical forests of southwestern India was collected by the Kani tribal people (a traditionally nomadic community from the forests of the Agasthyamalai hills in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, India). Scientists at the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) in Kerala discovered uses of this plant that are claimed to boost the immune system. Chemical and pharmacological investigations carried out initially at RRL, Jammu and later at TBGRI showed that the leaves of the plant contained various glycolipids and some other non-steroidal compounds with profound adaptogenic and immune-enhancing properties (82,83). The fruits showed mainly antifatigue properties. TBGRI was successful in developing a scientifically validated and standardized herbal drug, based on the tribal lead (84). The drug was named Jeevani and Arya Vaidya Pharmacy released it for commercial production in 1995 (85). TBGRI agreed to equally share the royalty with the tribal community. This experiment was acknowledged by UNDP by conferring a special award to the concerned scientists (86). >

Conclusion
Numerous drugs have entered the international market through exploration of ethnopharmacology and traditional medicine. Progress in genomics and proteomics has opened

new gateways in therapeutics and drug discovery and development. Better understanding of the human genome has helped in understanding scientific basis of individual variation. Drug targets have evolved during the last decade, but the industry remains target-rich and lead-poor trapped in the old mindset and strategies. TIM and TCM, carry many generations observations that have well-organized and documented data (87). Although scientific studies have been done on a large number of Indian botanicals, a considerably smaller number of marketable drugs or phytochemical entities have entered the evidence-based therapeutics. China has successfully promoted its own therapies and drugs like ginseng, ma huang and gingko with scientific evidences acceptable for the global community. Approach of integrative medicine by selective incorporation of elements of TCM alongside the modern methods of diagnosis has achieved a great success in China (88). India needs a clear policy for such integration without compromise on the strategies that are science-based. Efforts are needed to establish and validate pharmacoepidemiological evidence regarding safety and practice of Ayurvedic medicines (89). Pharmacoeconomic studies on TIM and TCM are rare, but can help in understanding cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of traditional medicine. In all such attempts, TCM examples would help India at various levels including policies, quality standards, integration practices, research models and the complementary integration where public health is kept at the central position. Both TIM and TCM are great traditions with strong philosophical basis and could play an important role in new therapies, drug discovery and development processes.

Acknowledgments
We thank Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative Herbal Drug Development Group for discussions.Financial assistance from the University Grants Commission to one of the authors (D.W.) is also gratefully acknowledged. References Humber JM. The role of complementary and alternative medicine: accommodating pluralism J Am Med Assoc 2002; 288: 16556[Free Full Text]. Legal status of traditional medicine, complementary/alternative medicine: a worldwide review. 2001; Geneva World Health Organization. Seidl PR. Pharmaceuticals from natural products: current trends An Acad Bras Cienc 2002; 74: 14550[ISI][Medline]. Available at http://www.ac-discovery.com. Available at http://www.merlionpharma.com/index.html. Jiang Y, Wang Y, Yan X. Chinese pharmaceutical companies: an emerging industry Drug Discov Today 2000; 6: 6102[CrossRef].

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original format.

Two Hundred Forty Seven Trees Species Face Extinction

The Northeast may still look lush green and the Andamans pristine, but in the wilderness of Indias biodiversity hotspots, not all is hunky dory. Habitat loss due to deforestation and human encroachment is quietly pushing hundreds of tree and plant species to the brink. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has put 45 tree species across India on its Red List of Threatened Plant Species 2007 as being critically endangered. Overall, it has flagged 247 tree species from the country as threatened. The Ilex khasiana, a typical high-altitude tree found only in Meghalaya, has run into its last generation. There are just four of them left in a small area, mostly confined to the Shillong Peak, the list says. The IUCNs critically endangered category is reserved for species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Its threat assessment says trees like Ilex khasiana may vanish because of poor regeneration and habitat decline. Indian animals facing extinction are widely talked about but hundreds of tree species are quietly slipping into extinction and nobody seems to care, IUCN Species Survival Commissions India member Vineet Soni told HT from Jaipur. Many of the 247 species that face grave threat are being overused for medicinal or religious purposes without adequate conservation. In the Nilgiri hills, theres a tree that goes by the name of Actinodaphne lanata. The Red List states that there is just one such tree left. Its habitat is the shola forest, between 1,500 and 1,800 metres. In the Andamans, the Syzygium manii, a semi-evergreen forest, faces a similar fate. The threats: huge decline in both habitat because of logging and reproduction. (Courtesy: Hindustan Times, 15 December, 2007)

STUDIES ON GENETIC VARIABILITY IN ASPARAGUS RACEMOSUS (WILLD.) FOR DIFFERENT TRAITS OF ECONOMIC VALUE
Parveen, Ashok Kumar, H.S. Ginwal, S. Barthwal and Brajeshwar
Forest Research Institute, Dehradun 248 006

Introduction

sparagus racemosus (Willd.) is one of the 32 plant species that has been identified as

priority species for cultivation and conservation by the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB), New Delhi. It has also been selected as prioritized species for the natural habitat for the state Uttarakhand. Although attention is being paid to standardize the agro-techniques for this species of high commercial value for its commercial production, little attention has been paid towards its genetic improvement and selection of desired genotypes. A. racemosus is an under-shrub, climbs up to 1-3 m high, with stout and creeping root stock. The root occurs in clusters or fascicle at the base of the stem with succulents and tuberous rootlets. The stem is scandent, woody, triquetrous, striate and climbing. The spines are long, subrecovered or striate and the cladodes in tufts of 2-6 in a node, slender, finely acuminate and falcate. Though the species is reported in Africa, South Asia, Malaysia and North Australia, it grows as wild in tropical and subtropical parts of India including Andaman. In the Himalayan region, it occurs up to an altitude of 1,500 m ranging from Jammu and Kashmir of North West Himalayas to Sikkim of Eastern Himalayas. It grows in areas with temperature ranging from 10 to 50C. A. racemosus is a rich source of saponin, and also contains alkaloids, proteins, starch, tannin, mucilage and diosgenin. The type of saponin varies with the geographical distribution of the species. For example, A. racemosus found in south India have saponin - A4 fraction but not in north Indian plants. It is being used in Ayurvedic system of medicines since ages as demulcent, diuretic, aphrodisiac and galactogogue. The root of this species is used as an ingredient of the Ayurvedic preparation mentat, used for nervous disorders. It improves defense mechanisms of the body and enhances longevity (Bhattacharya et al., 2000). Most of the tribes and other rural communities consume it for the control of diabetes (Rana et al., 1999). The roots are used mainly to promote the secretion of breast milk, improve lost body weight and considered as an aphrodisiac. Keeping the importance of this species in view, the Division of Genetics and Tree Propagation Division, Forest Research Institute Dehradun has started its genetic improvement under a project entitled Genetic Improvement of A. racemosus to Enhance Root Production and Saponin Content. Under this project, it is emphasized to select not only genetically divergent germplasm, seed sources but also to work towards release of a suitable variety for higher root production and saponin content. The entire programme is to be completed in two phases of (a) Selection of best seed sources/best genotype within source (b) crossing among superior genotypes. Genetic Variability and Germplasm Conservation The variability present in the base population is the key to the success of selection of superior genotypes. To maintain higher degree of variation, it is necessary that the base population have wide variability. The seed collected from different sources show ample variation in the

population. Thus, it is momentous to select a right base population to supply genetically divergent genotypes. Its importance further increases as other population including breeding and propagation are derived from the base population (Eldridge et al., 1993). In order to ensure sufficient genetic variability, the base populations should, therefore, be established by mixing seed from different seed sources collected different geographical regions. In this endeavor, seeds of A. racemosus were collected from 24 different geographical regions from different states. The fully ripped fruits were collected in the months of March to April, washed thoroughly to remove the pulp and dried in the sun. Accordingly, a germplasm bank of all these 24 sources of A. racemosus has been established at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Field Trial for Evaluation of Seed Sources The evaluation trials are established either by using open pollinated seed from a seed source through which additive gene effects are estimated or from controlled pollinated seed which gives information both on additive and non-additive components of inheritance. These trials are extremely useful for providing information on half-sib performance of various seed sources and in testing the progenies of a group of parents or their crosses in providing the estimates of various genetic parameters including heritability and genetic advance. The genetic parameters can be very useful tools in predicting the amount of gain to be expected from such trials. The variation among seed sources is commonly used as an estimate of total genetic variation and to calculate degree of genetic control to the particular trait(s) (Hood and Libby, 1980). Though the selection of germplasm is carried with high selection intensity, genetic superiority per se needs to be estimated using analytical tools like heritability and genetic advance. In the improvement programme of A. racemosus, 2 to 3 month old seedlings were transferred to poly-bags for raising sufficient nursery. A trial of 20 seed sources has been established at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun in a Randomized Block Design with three replicates (Table 1). Nine plants of each source have been planted in each replicate with a spacing of 1 x 1 m. Reproductive Biology It is an established fact that a successful breeding program needs a strong backup of genetics and reproductive biology. The breeding system through the mechanism of reproduction, pollination and degree of compatibility regulates the amount of recombination and genetic variations. Reproductive biology is a pre-requisite for successful breeding strategy and genetic improvement to regulate natural variations. Adequate supply of viable seeds is necessary for plantation programme depends on the reproductive capability of different genotypes, which decides the production of quality seed in sufficient quantity. The efficiency of reproductive system depends upon different factors affecting reproductive biology like variation in flowering, pollination and seed set, sterility, quality, viability and germination. The pollination mechanism affects seed set, gene flow, breeding system, hybridization and genetic constitution of an individual and population (Dogra, 1981). Table 1. List of seed sources deployed for field evaluation S. no. Source State

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Patna NBPGR Hissar (HAU) Mandi Solan Jammu Jabalpur Ambikapur Chitrakoot NIPER 4B NIPER 4C Jodhpur (wild) Jodhpur (cultivated) Ajmer Kolapakkam Anupuram Tambaram Dehradun Pantnagar Rishikesh Rishikesh (yellow)

Bihar Delhi Haryana Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Punjab Punjab Rajasthan Rajasthan Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Uttarakhand

Phenology studies regarding appearance of flowering buds, days to anthesis and ripening of fruits were recorded. The seeds and fruits were morphologically examined and percentage of spherical and hemispherical seeds and fruits containing one, two or three seeds was recorded. The flowers in A. racemosus are found to be solitary or fascicles, simple or branched racemes of 3 cm long. The pedicel is slender and jointed in the middle and the perianth lobes were white, fragrant and 3 mm in length. The anthers are found to be minute and purple. The flower buds are recorded in first week of October and the anthesis started in the last week of October. Correspondingly, the fruit setting began in the first to second week of November and ripening of fruits in the mid of March. The seed, however, could be harvested in the mid of the April. There are reports to indicate that flowering and fruiting in this species ranges from June to September (Agharkar, 1953), June to November (Chacko, 1997) and fruit ripening in the months of March (Roxburgh, 1832) and January (Chacko, 1997). Therefore, these traits seem to be influenced greatly with the environmental conditions. The observations on 2 month old seedlings for shoot number, shoot length and tuber (root) shape, size and diameter and graded into different groups for further observations were also collected.

Phenological Variations In A. racemosus, the fruit berry is globular or obscurely 3 lobbed, purple-reddish contain one, two or three seeds. In fact, 85 per cent of the fruits were recorded with single seed, 10 per cent with two seeds and 5 per cent with three seeds (Fig. 1). The variations are also observed in seed shape from spherical (90 per cent) to hemispherical (10 per cent; Fig. 2).

Fig. 1. Fruit variation

Fig. 2. Seed size variation Variation in root characteristics like number of tubers, shape and size of tubers recorded to be greater within seed source in two month old seedlings. Similarly, shoot length and numbers of

shoots were also found to be varying with seed source (Table 2; Fig. 3). Phenological observations of A. racemosus indicate that this species has a lot of genetic variation for these traits, which can be used for production of superior varieties and synthesis of F1 hybrids. Table 1. Medicinal plants found in Tarkeshwar sacred grove Parameter Number of shoots Number of roots Number of tubers Shoot length (cm) Root length (cm) Tuber diameter (mm) Quantification 1-3 1-4 0-4 5.4 29.5 2.2 12.3 2.16 7.41

Fig. 3. Root and shoot variation in 2 month old seedlings Seed Germination Germination of seeds starts from 15 to 20 days after sowing and about 70 to 80 per cent seed germination is recorded. The seed germination in A. racemosus varies from 17 to 60 percent in different collections. Although all seeds exhibit a dormancy, treatment of the seeds with a 20 percent sulfuric acid solution increases seed germination to levels of 84 to 86 per cent. Gibberellic acid also stimulates seed germination in A. racemosus, but to a lesser extent than sulfuric acid treatment (Gupta et al., 2002). Identification of Biological Compound and Standardization The identification of biologically active compound is an essential requirement for quality control, and determination of saponin dose found in various medicines. A medicinal herb like

this can be viewed as synthetic laboratory as it contains number of chemical compounds. Ravikumar et al. (1987) studied the biological activity of roots of Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), and showed to consist of several steroidal glycosides. Isolation of four glycosides and the structure of one of these, namely, shatavarian - IV (I) were described. Gyeresi et al. (1997) studied different chromatographic methods for the analysis of plant origin. Saxena and Chourasia (2001) conducted an experiment and reported spectral data of a new isoflavone, 8methoxy-5, 6, 4-trihydroxyisoflavone from the roots of Asparagus racemosus. Oleszek (2002) studied the different methods for the determination of saponin in plant materials and revealed that high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on reversed-phase columns remains the best technique for saponin determination, and is the most-widely used method for this group of compounds. However, the lack of chromophores allowing detection in UV limits the choice of gradient and detection method. Standardization and identification of the peaks in HPLC chromatograms has been based on comparison of the retention times with those observed for authentic standards. But new hyphenated techniques, combining HPLC with mass spectrometry and NMR are developing rapidly and allow online identification of separated saponin. Capillary electrophoresis has been applied for saponin determination only in limited studies, as this method still needs some refinement. Barve and Laddha (2006) worked out a spectrophotometric method for the determination of saponins in medicinal plants using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a standard. The method was based on the hemolysis principle in determining the saponin content by measuring oxyHb released at 575 nm and obeyed Beers law in a concentration range of 9-20 mg/ml. The proposed method was fairly accurate, reproducible, and will be useful for determination of total saponins in plants in terms of SLS. Shasany et al. (2003) studied genetic diversity analysis of medicinally important A. racemosus and their relationship with other ornamental Asparagus species using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with 40 random primers. Significant diversity was observed among A. racemosus (51.7 per cent) accessions and also within species (48 per cent). The phenotypic characters combined with RAPD analysis provided relationship to identify unknown Asparagus species. Two of the accessions from A. racemosus were associated with morphological unrelated species in RAPD analysis.

Conclusion
There is a potential for genetic improvement of A. racemosus for increasing saponin glycoside contents and more production of roots so that an improved variety can be developed for further propagation to achieve the requirement of pharmaceutical industries and local users by the large Indian population, as satavar based medicines are culturally associated with the Indian masses. There is a huge export market of medicinal and aromatic plants, which has still not been seriously tapped in our country. It is propagated through seeds as well as through tubers. For commercial cultivation, root suckers are preferred over seeds. The genotypes which are having maximum root production or high saponin content can be selected and propagated through tubers, which can lead to production of true to parent genotypes.

The process of genetic improvement of A. racemosus at Forest Research Institute is in initial stages with the collection of germplasm from different eco-climatic conditions and their field evaluation. The criteria of superior sources/genotype are based on survival, fast growth and the ability to produce qualitative and qualitative root production. Based on the preliminary results, breeding and genetic conservation strategies need to be developed for A. racemosus. The production of F1 hybrids in A. racemosus could play an important role in enhancing its productivity and high saponin content.

Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the National Medicinal Plants Board, New Delhi for the financial assistance.

References
Agharkar, S.P. 1953. Medicinal Plants of Bombay Presidency. Jodhpur, Scientific Publishers. Barve, K.H. and Laddha, K.S. 2006. Determination of saponins in medical plants. Indian Pharmacist, 5(48), 59-61. Bhattacharya, S.K.; Bhattacharya, A. and Chakrabarti, A. 2000. Adaptogenic activity of siotone, a polyformulation of ayurvedic rasayanas.Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 38(2): 119-128 Chako, K.C. 1997. Flowering, fruiting and seed characteristics of Asparagus racemosus. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany,21(1): 113-116. Dogra, P. D. 1981. Forest genetics research and application in Indian forestry Part-I. Indian Forester, 107(4):190-219, 263-288. Dogra, P. D. 1981. Forest genetics research and application in Indian forestry Partr-II. Indian Forester, 107(5): 263-288. Eldridge, K.G.; Davidson, J.; Harwood, C. and Wyk, van G. 1993. Eucalypt domestication and breeding. Oxford, Calarendan Press. 288 p. Gupta, S.; Kumar, A. and Sharma, S.N. 2002. Improvement of seed germination in Asparagus racemosus Willd. Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants, 9(1), 3-9. Gyeresi, A.; Keleman, H; Kata, T. and Marosvasarhely, R. M. 1997. Summary of the chromatographic methods recommended by pharmacopoeias for analysis of medicinal plants and their products. Journal of Planar Chromatography-Modern TLC, 10(3), 172-177. Hood, J.V. and Libby, W.J. 1980. A clonal study of intraspecific variability in radiata pine I : Cold and animal damage. Australian Forest Research, 10: 9-20.

 Oleszek, W.A. 2002. Chromatographic determination of plant saponins. Journal of Chromatography, A, 967(1), 147-162. Rana, T.S.; Singh, K.K. and. Rao, R.R. 1999. Studies on indigenous herbal remedies for diabetes mellitus in India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 23(1):115-120. Ravikumar, P.R.; Soman, R. ; Chetty, G.L.; Pandey, R.C. and Dev, S. 1987. Chemistry of ayurvedic crude drugs. Part VI. Shatavari-1: Structure of shatavarin-IV. Indian Journal of Chemistry, B: Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry,26 B (11), 1012-1017. Saexana, V.K.; Chourasia, S. 2001. A new isoflavone from the roots of Asparagus racemosus. Fitoterapia, 72(3): 307-309. Shasany, A.K.; Darokar, M.P.; Saikia, D.; Rajkumar, S.; Sundaresan, V. and Khanuja, S.P.S. 2003. Genetic diversity and species relationship in Asparagus species using RAPD analysis. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences, 25(3), 698-704. Somasundaram, T.R. 1963. A handbook on the identification and description of trees, shrubs and some important herbs of the forests of the southern states for the use of the Southern Forest Rangers College, Coimbatore. New Delhi, Manager of Publications.

Carbon Is Now Bread and Butter Business

By now, carbon credits are familiar term. Corporates reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases; in return for their efforts, they are awarded carbon credits; these credits can then be sold to other corporates elsewhere in the world that havent been able to reduce their emissions. On the face of it, a nice idea to incentives those who reduce emissions and penalise those who dont. So far, so good. In a new twist to the carbon credit tale, a breed of enterpreneurs are now emerging whose business models are built exclusively around earning carbon credits. Consider, for instance, the lighting energy efficiency project that is being implemented by two Hyderabad based technocrats-Nityanand J. Agrawal and Gopal Amin of the SLK Group. Between both of them, they have projects underway near Hyderabad and Kaddapa district in Andhra Pradesh to study how carbon dioxide can be reduced in real life conditions. After three months of testing, their hypothesis is this: If four regular bulbs in a home are replaced with CFL, bulbs, over a households lifetime, it ends up saving 2,000 units of power. That translates o lowering power bills by Rs. 80-100 each month. Heres where the enterpreneurs come in. They offer to replace regular bulbs with CFL across 10 million households in Andhra Pradesh and two million in Chattisgarh for a token amount of Rs. 10 each of these bulbs retail for some thing like Rs. 200. In return for which, the entrepreneurs go to environmental agencies and claim carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For each tonne of carbon dioxide the project reduces, the firm earns one carbon credit prices at roughly Rs. 550. Says a banker who evaluated the project, revenues from something like this can be as high as 5-7 times the investment made into the project. The countrys potential with such projects, say industry analysts, is roughly around 9 million carbon credits per year, which, at current prices, can earn around Euro 90 million per annum. With such revenues, India could even influence carbon credit pricing at the leading exchangesChicago Climate Exchange and European Climate Exchange where demand and supply determines pricing. (Courtesy: The Times of India, 12 October, 2007)

ENHANCEMENT OF FOREST PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF MICROSTYLIS WALLICHII

Lokho Puni and Attar Singh
Forest Research Institute, Dehradun - 248 006

Introduction

eevak, Microstylis wallichii syn Malaxis acuminata is an important medicinal terrestrial

orchid. It is an important constituent of Ayurvedic preparations. The orchid is a critically endangered species and collection from the wild can cause irreparable damage to the survival of this species. Collection from wild has been banned in certain states like Uttarakhand. No report on its commercial cultivation is available so far. The orchid is still available in the market for the pharmaceutical industries and medical practitioners. Therefore, its collection is from forest areas alone. Samples collected from the market contains pseudobulbs which are too small to be harvested or used. Collectors take out the whole plant mass and do not seem to leave even the small bulbs for future growth thus endangering its survival in the wild. Through experience, it is seen that imposing ban or restrictions on harvesting or exploitation of any forest resources, face stiff challenge because of many reasons: 1. The officers on duty often fail to identify, value and link up with the existing rules and regulations about the resources in question on transit; 2. The collectors are sufficiently motivated by the prospect of income through free collections of the resources from forest areas; 3. Traders provide elusive cover by labeling the resource with a misnomer to evade detection and seizure;

4. The collectors know the whereabouts of the resources and can collect them in bulk in short notices of the traders; and 5. When negative reports of the resource exploitation are received, the authority initiate its business of enquiry and by the time sufficient data is collected and counter measures are taken up, the resources are often over-exploited.

The Orchid
The orchid belongs to the Epidendoideae sub-family of Orchidacae. It is a sympodial orchid growing on humus or half rotten leaf litters of the moist forest floor of temperate and sub-tropical region of the Himalayas between 1,800m to 2,300m. The plant attains a height of about 20 cm when measured upto the floret tip; leaves are simple, alternate, sheathing and lanceolet. New plants arises from the basal side of the mother plant and draws nutrients from it before establishing itself on the forest floor. Often the mother plant produces small plantlets at its upper nodes also. Harvestable pseudobulb sizes may range from 1 to 2 cm diameter at the base and a length from 5 to over 7 cm. It takes about 3 to 4 years for the smallest pseudo-bulbs to develop into a harvestable or marketable size. The pseudo-bulb is used as a health tonic, blood purifier, aphrodisiac and also antioxidant (Jagatram et al., 2003). It is an important ingredient in different Ayurvedic preparations like astawarga, jivinya verga, madura verga and also in chyvanprash. Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical studies of M. wallichii also have been carried out by Duggal (1969). The orchid starts its active vegetative growth during the onset of monsoon and produces flowers during July- August and stops growing by October end. After fruiting, the plant enters into a dormant stage for about 6 months. It grows well in the northern and western aspect of the Western Himalayas. The plant is able to grow well in the forest floor of the Eastern parts of the country also. Cultivation experiments of this orchid has been carried out at Chakrata by NonWood Forest Products Division of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun since 2002 (Forest Research Institute, Non-Wood Forest Products Division, 2003). It is a necessity to retain the small pseudo-bulbs of this orchid while collecting from wild for continuity of its life processes. Seeds have, reportedly, poor germination ability and thus, is not the best propagation material. Pseudobulbs are the best material for its multiplication. However, each pseudobulb produces only a single or rarely two plants, therefore, it requires huge quantity of pseudobulbs for economic plantation. Expansion of its cultivation, therefore, will have certain disadvantages. However, it has an inherent potential to produce 4 to 5 plantlets from each pseudobulb through the dormant buds located at its nodes. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to develop sustainable management method through vegetative cuttings to enhance its productivity in forest areas.

Materials and Methods

Pseudobulbs were collected from Chakrata during February-March 2007 and initial experiments involving vegetative multiplication through nodal cuttings were carried out at Dehradun. They were then planted at high altitude nursery at Chakrata which is managed and maintained by the

Non Wood Forest Products Division of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Pseudobulbs of sizes 3 to 4 cm in length having 0.8 -1.0 cm in diameter measured at the bigger basal portion were selected. In one lot of 50 bulbs, they were cut into two at the middle internode portion making it into two halves. In another lot of 50 bulbs, they were also cut at internodes into three parts with the dormant buds intact on each parts. In the third lot of 50 bulbs, no cuts were made but used the whole pseudobulbs as such for the experiment. The bigger bulbs were not used since these should be reserved for the market. Each of three lots of cut parts were placed separately in polythene bags containing washed sphagnum moss to provide required moisture for shoot initiation from dormant buds. The moss was soaked in water overnight for sufficient water absorption and excess water was squeezed out. Each lot with the cut and uncut nodal parts were separately placed above a handful of the moss put inside each separate polythene bags and were sealed with some air trapped in it. They were kept in shade at room temperature. Shoot initiation data were collected after 10, 20 and 30 days. The experimental bulbs after proper shoot development were planted in deodar and oak forests at Chakrata during May end of 2007 and performance recorded. Table 1. Category 1. Pseudobulbs cut in 2 halves Percentage of Shoot length category shoot initiations (at (cm) days) 10 20 30 0.51- 2.0 60 16 2.1- 3.0 1 24 8 3.1- 5.0 and above 26 60 92 No shoot 0.51- 2.0 78 32 2.1- 3.0 22 20 3.1-5.0 and above 46 No shoot -

Part of pseudobulbs Bottom part

Upper part

Table 2. Category 2. Pseudobulbs cut in 3 parts Percentage of Shoot length category shoot initiations (at (cm) days) 10 20 30 0.15-2.0 20 10 8 80 70 2.1-3.0 40 3.1-5.0 and above 20 50

Part of pseudobulbs Bottom Part

Middle part

No shoot 0.51- 2.0 2.1- 3.0

94 6

12 22

Back Print This Article: Paper Size: A4.A5.B5.etc. Bookmark This Article: Bookmark Article Name: Research Update:Walnut Key Words: Walnut Extract.10:1.Black Walnut Extract,Walnut Extract,Green Black Walnut Extract,English Walnut Extract,Persian Walnut Extract,Semen Juglandis,Carya Alba Extract,C10H6O3;F.W. 174.16;CAS: 48139-0;5-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone...Carya alba,mockernut hickory,Walnut kernel,Semen Juglandis,Hu Tao Ren,Background,Characteristics,Phytochemical,nutritional composition,Medicinal Benefits,Action and Uses,More. Article Link: http://www.mdidea.com/products/new/new073research.html

Research Update:Walnut
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Phytochemical info of Walnut. Product Name: Synonym: Definition:Walnut are majorly composed of Chemical information disclosed as following table:

Research Update:Walnut
Walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaves: Phenolic compounds, antibacterial activity and antioxidant potential of different cultivars.:Food Chem Toxicol. 2007 Jun 12;Pereira JA, Oliveira I, Sousa A, Valent?o P, Andrade PB, Ferreira IC, Ferreres F, Bento A, Seabra R, Estevinho L.CIMO/Escola Superior Agrria, Instituto Politcnico de Bragan?a, Campus Sta Apolnia, Apt. 1172, 5301-855 Bragan?a, Portugal. Different cultivars of walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaves (Cv. Lara, Franquette, Mayette, Marbot, Mellanaise and Parisienne) grown in Portugal, were investigated in what concerns phenolic compounds and antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Phenolics analysis was performed by reversed-phase HPLC/DAD and 10 compounds were identified and quantified: 3- and 5-caffeoylquinic acids, 3- and 4-p-coumaroylquinic acids, p-coumaric acid, quercetin 3-galactoside, quercetin 3-pentoside derivative, quercetin 3-arabinoside, quercetin 3-xyloside and quercetin 3-rhamnoside. The antimicrobial capacity was screened against Gram positive (Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and fungi (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans). Walnut leaves selectively inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria, being B. cereus the most susceptible one (MIC 0.1mg/mL). Gram negative bacteria and fungi were resistant to the extracts at 100mg/mL. Lara walnut leaves were also submitted to antibacterial assays using 18 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus sp. Antioxidant activity was accessed by the reducing power assay, the scavenging effect on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and beta-carotene linoleate model system. In a general way, all of the studied walnut leaves cultivars presented high antioxidant activity (EC(50) values lower than 1mg/mL), being Cv. Lara the most effective one.

Effect of Walnut-Enriched Restructured Meat in the Antioxidant Status of Overweight/Obese Senior Subjects with at Least One Extra CHD-Risk Factor.:J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Jun;26(3):225-32.Canales A, Bened J, Nus M, Librelotto J, Snchez-Montero JM, Snchez-Muniz FJ.Departamento de Nutricin y Bromatologia I (Nutricin), Facultad de Farmacia. Universidad Complutense, E-28040-Madrid, SPAIN. frasan@farm.ucm.es. BACKGROUND: A number of recent studies indicate that antioxidants reduce the oxidative stress associated with the development of coronary heart diseases (CHD). OBJECTIVE: (i) To investigate whether the erythrocyte catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total glutathione, reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG), and lipid peroxidation (LPO), and serum uric acid and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) are modified at increased CHD-risk individuals consuming walnut-enriched meat (WM), (ii) to evaluate whether these changes were influenced by basal serum cholesterol, body mass index or smoking habit. DESIGN: The study was a non blinded, cross-over, placebocontrolled trial in which 22 volunteers (60% overweight and 40% obese) with increased CHD-risk were randomly assigned to receive WM or control meat (CM) during two different periods of 5 weeks. RESULTS: A significant interaction time*treatment (p < 0.05) was observed in all enzymes and substrates tested except HDL-C, uric acid and LPO. The treatment significantly increased CAT activity, total glutathione and GSSG (p < 0.05). Significant gender*time*treatment interaction (p = 0.043) for total glutathione was found increasing at the end of the WM period in male but not changing in female. Total glutathione and GSH/GSSG ratio (p < 0.05) were lower in smokers. Hypercholesterolemics presented higher uric acid (p < 0.05) but no enzyme activities or substrate concentrations were different from those of normocholesterolemics. CONCLUSIONS: The WM tested appears to be a functional food as it improved the antioxidant status of increased CHDrisk volunteers. Despite its high energy content, it also appears adequate for overweight and obese people because did not exert negative effect upon body weight.

Ethnoveterinary medicines used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in pigs and pets in British Columbia, Canada.:Vet Parasitol. 2007 Jul 10;Lans C, Turner N, Khan T, Brauer G.BCICS, University of Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada. This paper documents the medicinal plants used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in dogs, cats and pigs in British Columbia, Canada. Ethnoveterinary data was collected over a 6-month period in 2003. The majority of the information on pets came from 2 naturopaths, 10 herbalists, 5 dog trainers, breeders and pet shop owners, 9 holistic veterinarians and 6 of 27 organic farmers. Two pig farmers joined the study in the final stages. The following plants were used as anthelmintics: Artemisia cina O. Berg and C.F. Schmidt, Artemisia vulgaris L., Artemisia annua, Calendula officinalis L., Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (all Asteraceae), Mentha piperita L. and Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) (Allium sativum L. (Alliaceae), Cucurbita pepo L. (Cucurbitaceae), Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb (Myrtaceae), Gentiana lutea L. (Gentianaceae), Hydrastis canadensis L. (Ranunculaceae), Juglans nigra L. (Juglandaceae), Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae) and Ruta graveolens L. (Rutaceae)). Stomach problems were treated with: Achillea millefolium L. (Asteraceae), Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Asphodelaceae), Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski (Poaceae), Frangula purshiana (DC.) Cooper (Rhamnaceae), Juniperus communis L. (Cupressaceae), Melissa officinalis L. and M. piperita L. (Lamiaceae), Petroselinum crispum L. (Apiaceae), Plantago major L. and Plantago ovata Forssk. (Plantaginaceae) Rumex crispus L. and Rumex obtusifolius L. (Polygonaceae), Ulmus fulva Michx. (Ulmaceae) and Zingiber officinalis Roscoe (Zingiberaceae). There is insufficient information available to assess the anthelmintic efficacies of C. officinalis, Salvia officinalis, Eugenia caryophyllata and O. europaea; the other plants have mid- to highlevel validity for their ethnoveterinary uses.

Arylesterase activity and antioxidant status depend on PON1-Q192R and PON1L55M polymorphisms in subjects with increased risk of cardiovascular disease consuming walnut-enriched meat.:J Nutr. 2007 Jul;137(7):1783-8.Nus M, Frances F, Librelotto J, Canales A, Corella D, Snchez-Montero JM, Snchez-Muniz FJ.Departamento de Nutricin y Bromatologa I (Nutricin), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid E-28040, Spain. Human paraoxonase (PON1) exists in 2 major polymorphic forms and has been shown to protect LDL and HDL against oxidation. The aim of this study was to assess the differences between subjects at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), taking into account the effects of PON1-Q192R and PON1-L55M polymorphisms on 1) basal serum arylesterase activity, lipid peroxidation (LPO), and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-C, total cholesterol (TC), and oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL) concentrations; 2) the relations between arylesterase activity and lipid variables; and 3) the effect of walnut-enriched meat (WM) consumption on arylesterase activity and lipid variables. Twenty-three Caucasians at increased risk of CVD were randomly assigned to diet order groups in a crossover, nonblinded, placebo-controlled trial, consisting of two 5-wk experimental periods [WM and control meat (CM)]. Significant PON1-L55M x PON1-Q192R interactions affected basal serum HDL-C (P = 0.019), LDL-C (P = 0.028) and TC (P = 0.022) and tended to affect arylesterase activity (P = 0.083). Basal arylesterase activity was positively correlated with basal HDL-C (r = 0.53; P < 0.05) and TC (r = 0.43; P < 0.05) and negatively correlated with LPO (r = -0.70; P < 0.01) and the ox-LDL:LDL ratio (r = -0.63; P < 0.01). WM decreased arylesterase activity in PON1-55M carriers (P = 0.012) but not in PON1-L55 individuals, and decreased LPO concentrations in PON1-192R carriers (P = 0.031) but not in PON1-Q192 subjects. To conclude, serum TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C concentrations and arylesterase activity depend on the interaction of PON1-L55M and PON1-Q192R polymorphisms. However, the PON1-Q192R polymorphism is more closely related to antioxidant status. Both polymorphisms modulate the effect of WM consumption on CVD biomarkers.

Elemental composition and chemical characteristics of five edible nuts (almond, Brazil, pecan, macadamia and walnut) consumed in Southern Africa.:J Environ Sci Health B. 2007 Jun-Jul;42(5):585-91.Moodley R, Kindness A, Jonnalagadda SB.School of Chemistry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. The total elemental concentrations and proximate chemical composition of five different tree nuts, almond (Prunus dulcus), Brazil (Bertholletia excelsa), pecan (Carya pecan), macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) and walnut (Juglans nigra) that are consumed in South African households were investigated. In addition, six physicochemical properties of the extracted nut oils, namely acid value, iodine value, saponification value, refractive index, density and specific gravity were evaluated. A high concentration of Se (36.1 +/- 0.4 microg g(- 1)) was found in the Brazil nuts only. With maximum and minimum limits being set by the almond and pecan nut samples, Cr ranging from 0.94 +/- 0.14-2.02 +/- 0.07 microg g(- 1) was detected in the nut samples. Generally, the order of the concentrations of the elements in all the nut samples is found to be Mg > Ca > Fe > Cu > Cr > As > Se. The concentrations of Mn and Zn showed greater variation amongst the different types of nuts. The extracted oils showed low acid values and high saponification values with the macadamia nut sample having the highest oil content (76.0 +/- 0.5 g per 100 g of sample), the lowest acid value (0.42 +/- 0.01 mg KOH per g of oil) and highest saponification value (193.7 +/- 2.4 mg KOH per g of oil). The present findings are useful in calculating the Dietary Reference Intakes of these nutrients.

Engineering oilseed plants for a sustainable, land-based source of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.:Lipids. 2007 Apr;42(3):179-85. Epub 2007 Mar 14. Review.Damude HG, Kinney AJ.Crop Genetics Research, DuPont Experimental Station,

Wilmington, DE 19880-0353, USA Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated the cardiovascular and mental health benefits of including very long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely eicospentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosohexaenoic acid (DHA) in the human diet. Certain fish oils can be a rich source of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids although processed marine oils are generally undesirable as food ingredients because of the associated objectionable flavors and contaminants that are difficult and cost-prohibitive to remove. Oilseed plants rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as flax and walnut oils, contain only the 18-carbon omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, which is poorly converted by the human body to EPA and DHA. It is now possible to engineer common omega-6 rich oilseeds such as soybean and canola to produce EPA and DHA and this has been the focus of a number of academic and industrial research groups. Recent advances and future prospects in the production of EPA and DHA in oilseed crops are discussed here.

Severity of walnut anthracnose and its relatively resistant in Iran.:Commun Agric Appl Biol Sci. 2006;71(3 Pt B):1267-74.Saremi H, Hashemi SR, Okhovvat SM.Department of plant pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, Iran. Walnut black spot or Anthracnose has been a destructive disease of Juglans in Iran mainly northwest of the country. Current situation of the disease was studied in various regions including Qazvin, Zanjan, Hamedan and East Azarbyjan provinces during 1999 to 2002. Infected samples such as leaves, fruits and foliage were collected and cultured in PDA, CMA and NA media after surface sterilization with sodium hypochlorite. Morphological characteristics and asexual reproduction of isolated pathogen showed that the fungal causal agent was Marssonina jglandis (Lib) Magn. which perfect stage was Gnomonia leptostyla (Fr). The disease was severing under studied areas, especially when it was rainy and humidity. Virulence of the disease caused major defoliation in some walnut trees infected to anthracnose disease. So, investigation showed that the collecting or burning infected leaves and fruits under trees could reduce severity of disease. Study also resulted there was a resistant variety around the Qazvin province traditionally called "Alamoty" which had not any anthracnose infection in natural condition. The result of experimental work with inoculation of different walnut clones by spore suspension (10(5)) in glasshouse has also indicated that this original clone was more resistant than others to anthracnose disease. Alamoty clone had favorite yield production and some trees presented more than 250 years old in Iran.

Effects of a high walnut and high cashew nut diet on selected markers of the metabolic syndrome: a controlled feeding trial.:Br J Nutr. 2007 Jun;97(6):1144-53. Epub 2007 Mar 7.Mukuddem-Petersen J, Stonehouse Oosthuizen W, Jerling JC, Hanekom SM, White Z.School of Computer, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa. Janine.MukuddemPetersen@NWU.ac.za We investigated the effects of a high walnut diet and a high unsalted cashew nut diet on selected markers of the metabolic syndrome. In a randomized, parallel, controlled study design, sixty-four subjects having the metabolic syndrome (twenty-nine men, thirty-five women) with a mean age of 45 (sd 10) years and who met the selection criteria were all fed a 3-week run-in control diet. Hereafter, participants were grouped according to gender and age and then randomized into three groups receiving a controlled feeding diet including walnuts, or unsalted cashew nuts or no nuts for 8 weeks. Subjects were required to have lunch at the metabolic ward of the Nutrition Department of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). Both the walnut and the unsalted cashew nut intervention diets had no significant effect on the HDL-cholesterol, TAG, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, serum fructosamine, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, blood pressure and serum uric acid concentrations when compared to the control diet. Low baseline LDL-cholesterol

concentrations in the cashew nut group may have masked a possible nut-related benefit. Plasma glucose concentrations increased significantly (P = 0.04) in the cashew nut group compared to the control group. By contrast, serum fructosamine was unchanged in the cashew nut group while the control group had significantly increased (P = 0.04) concentrations of this short-term marker of glycaemic control. Subjects displayed no improvement in the markers of the metabolic syndrome after following a walnut diet or a cashew nut diet compared to a control diet while maintaining body weight.

The effects of high walnut and cashew nut diets on the antioxidant status of subjects with metabolic syndrome.:Eur J Nutr. 2007 Apr;46(3):155-64. Epub 2007 Mar 21.Davis L, Stonehouse W, Loots du T, Mukuddem-Petersen J, van der Westhuizen FH, Hanekom SM, Jerling JC.School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Science, NorthWest University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa. vgeld@puk.ac.za BACKGROUND: Nut consumption is associated with a protective effect against coronary heart disease, partly due to its high antioxidant content. It is hypothesized that the inclusion of nuts in the diet will improve the antioxidant status of subjects with metabolic syndrome who may be vulnerable to impaired antioxidant status. AIM: The effects of high cashew nut and high walnut diets on the antioxidant status of subjects with metabolic syndrome are investigated. METHODOLOGY: Sixty-four volunteers (29 male and 35 female, 45 +/- 10y) with metabolic syndrome (diagnosed by using the ATP III criteria) received a prudent control diet, prepared in the metabolic kitchen of the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus (NWU-PC) for a period of 3 weeks (run-in). The participants were grouped according to gender and age and randomized into three groups, receiving either the walnut, cashew nut or the control diets for 8 weeks, while maintaining a stable body weight. Nuts provided 20% of daily energy intake. Fasting blood samples were taken after the run-in period (baseline) and at the end of the intervention period and analyzed for various antioxidant capacity markers. RESULTS: The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of the walnut and cashew nut diets were significantly higher than the control diet. Despite this, the walnut and cashew nut diets had no significant effects on serum ORAC, reduced (GSH), oxidized (GSSG) glutathione, GSH:GSSG or diacron reactive metabolites (dRom) (total oxidant status) levels compared to the control group. However, all three groups showed significant improvements in antioxidant status from baseline to end (GSSG and dRom levels decreased; GSG:GSSG ratio and ORAC levels increased). This may be due to a general increased antioxidant intake from the prudent diet compared to the habitual diets. CONCLUSION: Although the inclusion of walnuts and cashew nuts into a prudent diet resulted in an increased antioxidant capacity (ORAC) of the nut diets, compared to the control diet, it did not improve the serum antioxidant profiles of subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Microbe contamination of the cream with the dense extract of walnut leafs during storage.:Georgian Med News. 2007 Jan;(142):67-9.Goletiani K, Tsagareishvill G, Gubchenko T, Strilets O, Bashura A.Department of Cosmetology and Aromatology, National Pharmaceutical University of Kharkov; Institute of Pharmacochemistry, Academy of Sciences of Georgia. As a result of experiment there has been studied microbial contamination of cream with a dense extract of leaves of a walnut, which is intended for dry skin care, inclined to irritation in process of storage during two years at the following temperature modes: 4,0+/-2,0 degrees C and 25,0+/-2,0 degrees C. There is experimentally proved, that in developed cream with a dense extract of leaves of a walnut, during the entire storage period, there have not been revealed presence of bacterium of family Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is established microbiological cleanliness, have been defined, that the total number of bacterium for 1 g of preparation does not exceed 10, and the same of fungus - 20.

Two novel dicarboxylic Acid derivatives and a new dimeric hydrolyzable tannin from walnuts.:J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Feb 7;55(3):672-9. In addition to the 16 previously reported polyphenols including 3 new ellagitannins, 2 novel dicarboxylic acid derivatives, glansreginins A (1) and B (2), and a new dimeric hydrolyzable tannin, glansrin D (3), were isolated, together with 15 known compounds from walnuts, the seeds of Juglans regia. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of 1D- and 2D-NMR analyses and chemical data. The antioxidant effect of these isolates was also evaluated by SOD-like and DPPH radical scavenging activities.

Fatty acid profiles, tocopherol contents, and antioxidant activities of heartnut (Juglans ailanthifolia Var. cordiformis) and Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.).:J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Feb 21;55(4):1164-9. Epub 2007 Jan 25.Li L, Tsao R, Yang R, Kramer JK, Hernandez M.Food Research Program, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 93 Stone Road West, Guelph, Ontario N1G 5C9, Canada. The fatty acid and tocopherol compositions of three heartnut (Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis) varieties (Imshu, Campbell CW1, and Campbell CW3) were examined and compared with those of two Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) varieties (Combe and Lake). The major fatty acids found in heartnuts and walnuts were identified by gas chromatography as linoleic (18:2n-6), alpha-linolenic (18:3n-3), oleic (18:1n-9), palmitic (16:0), and stearic acid (18:0). Polyunsaturated fatty acids were the main group of fatty acids found in both heartnut and walnut, ranging from 73.07 to 80.98%, and were significantly higher in heartnut than in Persian walnuts (P < 0.001). In addition, heartnuts had significantly higher levels of 18:2n-6 and lower levels of 18:3n-3 compared to the Persian walnuts. gamma-Tocopherol was the main tocopherol homologue present in both types of nuts, followed by delta- and alpha-tocopherol. The highest concentration of gamma-tocopherol was found in Combe Persian walnut at 267.87 mug/g, followed by Lake Persian walnut and Imshu, Campbell CW1, and CW3 heartnut at 205.45, 187.33, 161.84, and 126.46 mug/g, respectively. Tocopherols, particularly the gamma-tocopherol, were found to contribute the most to the strong total antioxidant activities of both walnut and heartnut oils using either the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay or the photochemiluminescence method.

Laminar xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the prodromal stage of black-walnut induced equine laminitis.:Equine Vet J. 2007 Jan;39(1):48-53.Loftus JP, Belknap JK, Stankiewicz KM, Black SJ.Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. REASONS FOR STUDY: Xanthine oxidase (XO)-dependent production of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, a characteristic of ischaemia-reperfusion injury, may contribute to the development of equine laminitis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the levels of XO and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase [SOD]) in the digital laminae of normal horses (CON) and horses in the developmental stage of laminitis using the black walnut extract (BWE) model. METHODS: Healthy horses (n = 12) were administered BWE (BWE group, n = 6), or water (CON group, n = 6) through a nasogastric tube. At the onset of leucopenia in the BWE-treated animals, all horses were anaesthetised, digital laminae and other samples collected rapidly and flash frozen, and the animals subjected to euthanasia. Extracts of the frozen tissues were assayed for the 2 conformational forms of xanthine: oxygen oxidoreductase (XOR), namely, xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO), as well as the antioxidant enzymes, SOD and catalase. RESULTS: Extracts of liver, lungs and skin, but not digital laminae, from either CON or BWE-treated horses had endogenous SOD, whereas all had endogenous XO and catalase. The levels of

XDH, XO and catalase were similar in extracts of laminae from CON and BWE-treated horses as was the ratio of XDH to XO in extracts. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The absence of increased XO activity suggest against the involvement of this reactive oxygen intermediate-generating system in the development of laminar pathology in BWE-treated horses. Conversely, the absence of SOD from extracts of equine digital laminae, but not other tissues, suggests that the equine digital laminae are highly susceptible to damage by superoxide anion, produced, for example, by emigrant inflammatory leucocytes.

In vitro antioxidant activity of Juglans regia L. bark extract and its protective effect on cyclophosphamide-induced urotoxicity in mice.:Redox Rep. 2006;11(6):273-9.Bhatia K, Rahman S, Ali M, Raisuddin S.Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi, India. Walnut (Juglans regia L.) bark has been claimed to possess anti-inflammatory, blood purifying, anticancer, depurative, diuretic and laxative activities. It contains several therapeutically active constituents, especially polyphenols. We studied the antioxidant potential of aqueous extract of walnut bark and its modulatory effect on cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced urotoxicity in Swiss albino male mice. Free radicalscavenging activity of extract was assessed in four in vitro assays. The phenolic and flavonolic contents of the extract were also measured. Walnut bark extract treatment (150 mg/kg p.o. x 10 days) resulted in protective restoration of decreased antioxidants in CPtreated (18 mg/kg i.p. x 10 days) animals. CP treatment caused decreases in the activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GP), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and in the glutathione (GSH) content in urinary bladder and a significant concomitant increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO). Administration of extract restored all the antioxidants significantly and lowered the elevated LPO in the bladder. A correlation between radical scavenging capacities of the extract with phenolic content was observed thus justifying its antioxidant potential against oxidative stressmediated urotoxicity in mice. Walnut is reported to possess antiproliferative activity. Its protective effect on CP-induced toxicity in bladder is a promising activity, which warrants possible clinical investigations on this medicinal plant.

Neutrophil myeloperoxidase measurements in plasma, laminar tissue, and skin of horses given black walnut extract.:Am J Vet Res. 2007 Jan;68(1):81-6.Riggs LM, Franck T, Moore JN, Krunkosky TM, Hurley DJ, Peroni JF, de la Rebire G, Serteyn DA.Department of Large Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. OBJECTIVE: To compare measurements of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in plasma, laminar tissues, and skin obtained from control horses and horses given black walnut heartwood extract (BWHE). ANIMALS: 22 healthy 5- to 15-year-old horses. PROCEDURES: Horses were randomly assigned to 4 groups as follows: a control group given water (n = 5) and 3 experimental groups given BWHE (17) via nasogastric intubation. Experimental groups consisted of 5, 6, and 6 horses that received BWHE and were euthanatized at 1.5, 3, and 12 hours after intubation, respectively. Control horses were euthanatized at 12 hours after intubation. Plasma samples were obtained hourly for all horses. Laminar tissue and skin from the middle region of the neck were harvested at the time of euthanasia. Plasma and tissue MPO concentrations were determined via an ELISA; tissue MPO activity was measured by use of specific immunologic extraction followed by enzymatic detection. RESULTS: Tissues and plasma of horses receiving BWHE contained significantly higher concentrations of MPO beginning at hour 3. Laminar tissue and skin from horses in experimental groups contained significantly higher MPO activity than tissues from control horses. Concentrations and activities of MPO in skin and laminar tissues were similar over time. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In horses, BWHE administration causes increases in MPO concentration and activity in laminar tissue and skin and the time of increased MPO concentration correlates with emigration of WBCs from the

vasculature. These findings support the hypothesis that activation of peripheral WBCs is an early step in the pathogenesis of acute laminitis.

Polyphasic classification of Alternaria isolated from hazelnut and walnut fruit in Europe.:Mycol Res. 2006 Nov;110(Pt 11):1290-300. Epub 2006 Oct 30.Hong SG, Maccaroni M, Figuli PJ, Pryor BM, Belisario A.Division of Plant Pathology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. Brown apical necrosis of English walnut and grey necrosis of hazelnut are destructive fruit diseases caused by a complex of opportunistic fungi including several small-spored catenulate Alternaria taxa. Thirty Alternaria isolates recovered from walnut and hazelnut fruit that were pathogenic on their respective host were compared along with type or representative isolates of A. alternata, A. tenuissima, A. arborescens, and A. infectoria using morphological and molecular criteria. Morphological examination using standardized procedures separated the walnut and hazelnut isolates into three morphological groups: the A. alternata group, the A. tenuissima group, and the A. arborescens group based upon common characteristics of the conidium and the sporulation apparatus. To evaluate genetic relationships among these groups, AFLP markers, inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, and histone gene sequence data were compared. Based upon AFLP data, the A. alternata and A. tenuissima groups comprised a single lineage, and the A. arborescens group comprised a separate lineage. ISSR data supported the grouping by AFLP data except for three isolates of the A. alternata group that clustered with the A. arborescens group. Base substitution of the H4 gene supported the discrimination of the A. arborescens group from the A. alternata and A. tenuissima groups. Tests of hypotheses based upon groupings derived from the various data sets supported the discrimination of the A. arborescens group but did not support the discrimination of the A. alternata group from the A. tenuissima group.

Acute effects of high-fat meals enriched with walnuts or olive oil on postprandial endothelial function.:J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Oct 17;48(8):1666-71. Epub 2006 Sep 26.Corts B, N?ez I, Cofn M, Gilabert R, Prez-Heras A, Casals E, Deulofeu R, Ros E.Departament de Medicina, Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate whether the addition of walnuts or olive oil to a fatty meal have differential effects on postprandial vasoactivity, lipoproteins, markers of oxidation and endothelial activation, and plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). BACKGROUND: Compared with a Mediterranean diet, a walnut diet has been shown to improve endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic patients. We hypothesized that walnuts would reverse postprandial endothelial dysfunction associated with consumption of a fatty meal. METHODS: We randomized in a crossover design 12 healthy subjects and 12 patients with hypercholesterolemia to 2 high-fat meal sequences to which 25 g olive oil or 40 g walnuts had been added. Both test meals contained 80 g fat and 35% saturated fatty acids, and consumption of each meal was separated by 1 week. Venipunctures and ultrasound measurements of brachial artery endothelial function were performed after fasting and 4 h after test meals. RESULTS: In both study groups, flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was worse after the olive oil meal than after the walnut meal (p = 0.006, time-period interaction). Fasting, but not postprandial, triglyceride concentrations correlated inversely with FMD (r = -0.324; p = 0.024). Flow-independent dilation and plasma ADMA concentrations were unchanged, and the concentration of oxidized low-density lipoproteins decreased (p = 0.051) after either meal. The plasma concentrations of soluble inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules decreased (p < 0.01) independently of meal type, except for E-selectin, which decreased more (p = 0.033) after the walnut meal. CONCLUSIONS: Adding walnuts to a high-fat meal acutely improves FMD independently of changes in oxidation, inflammation, or ADMA. Both walnuts and olive oil preserve the protective phenotype of endothelial cells.

Walnut (Juglans).:Methods Mol Biol. 2006;344:297-307.Leslie CA, Uratsu SL, McGranahan G, Dandekar AM.Plant Science Department, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Walnut species are important nut and timber producers in temperate regions of Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. Trees can be impacted by Phytophthora, crown gall, nematodes, and cherry leaf roll virus; nuts can be severely damaged by codling moth and Xanthomonas blight. The long-generation time of walnuts and an absence of identified natural resistance for most of these problems suggest biotechnological approaches to crop improvement. Described here is a somatic embryo based transformation protocol that has been used to successfully insert horticulturally useful traits into walnut. Selection is based on the combined use of the selectable neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene and the scorable uidA gene. Transformed embryos can be germinated or micropropagated and rooted for plant production. The method described has been used to establish field trials of mature trees.

Polyphenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of heartnut (Juglans ailanthifolia Var. cordiformis) and Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.).:J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Oct 18;54(21):8033-40.Li L, Tsao R, Yang R, Liu C, Zhu H, Young JC.Department of Chemistry, Changchun Normal College, Changchun 130032, China. The polyphenolic compositions of three heartnut (Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis) varieties (Imshu, Campbell CW1, and Campbell CW3) were examined and compared with those of two Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) varieties (Combe and Lake). The nuts were defatted, extracted, and separated into three different fractions, the free phenolic acid (FPA), acid-hydrolyzable phenolic acid (AHPA), and bound phenolic acid (BPA) fractions. The total phenolic contents (TPCs) in both FPA and AHPA of the Persian walnuts were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than those of the heartnuts, but not in the BPA (P = 0.20). LC-ESI-MS(n)() studies revealed that except for the FPA fraction, the major polyphenolics in both heartnut and Persian walnut were ellagic acid and valoneic acid dilactone. Persian walnuts contained an average of 0.29 and 1.31 mg of ellagic acid/g nut in the 80% methanol extractable fractions FPA and AHPA, respectively. Heartnuts contained an average of 0.16 and 0.60 mg of ellagic acid/g nut in the respective fractions. Bound ellagic acid in the residue was 0.93 and 0.70 mg/g of nut in the Persian walnut and in the heartnut, respectively. Valoneic acid dilactone was tentatively identified and quantified as milligrams of ellagic acid equivalent per gram of nut. These components were found to contribute to the strong total antioxidant activities measured using ferric reducing antioxidant power and photochemiluminescence methods.

Levels of the n-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid in addition to those of alpha linolenic acid are significantly raised in blood lipids by the intake of four walnuts a day in humans.:Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2007 Jul;17(6):457-61. Epub 2006 Sep 26.Marangoni F, Colombo C, Martiello A, Poli A, Paoletti R, Galli C.Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. franca.marangoni@unimi.it BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ingestion of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), with the richest source among dry fruits such as walnuts, is associated with cardiovascular prevention. The aim of this study was to selectively evaluate the effects of moderate walnut consumption on the levels of ALA and its metabolic derivatives in human blood. METHODS AND RESULTS: After a 2-week run-in period, 10 volunteers consumed 4 walnuts per day (in addition to their habitual diet) for 3 weeks. Fatty acid profiles, with special attention to levels of ALA and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), were assessed in blood drops collected from fingertips. The data indicate that the administration of a few walnuts a day for 3 weeks significantly increases blood levels, not only of ALA (from 0.23+/-0.07 SD to 0.47+/-0.13 SD), but also of its longer chain derivative

eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) (from 0.23+/-0.37 to 0.82+/-0.41) with levels remaining elevated over basal values after washout. CONCLUSION: The findings of this pilot study indicate that plant ALA in appropriate food items favourably affects the n-3 LC-PUFA status.

Effects of Larix gmelini aqueous extracts on seed germination and seedling growth of Juglans mandshurica.:Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2006 Jun;17(6):1145-7. Chinese.Yang L.College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China. ylx_0813@163.com In this study, Juglans mandshurica seeds were drenched in different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 g x kg(-1)) aqueous extracts from adult Larix gmelini root, bark, branch and leaf for one week, and cultured in greenhouse in mid-April, 2004. The germination rate and germination index were calculated 18 days later, and the seedling's height and collar diameter were measured on August 1st. The results suggested that 25 g x kg(-1) root and 12.5 g x kg(-1) bark and branch aqueous extracts of L. gmelini could significantly increase the seed germination rate and germination index of J. mandshurica (P < 0.05), and 12.5 g x kg(-1) root and bark aqueous extracts could significantly increase the seedling height and collar diameter (P < 0.05). High concentrations of L. gmelini leaf aqueous extract could significantly promote the seed germination and seedling growth of J. mandshurica, but the promotion effect decreased gradually with decreasing concentration of leaf aqueous extract. The promotion of L. gmelini aqueous extracts to J. mandshurica seed germination and seedling growth might be related to the allelopathy between these two tree species.

Validity and reliability of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire measuring n-3 fatty acid intakes in cardiac patients in the Midwest: a validation pilot study.:J Am Diet Assoc. 2006 Aug;106(8):1251-5.Ritter-Gooder PK, Lewis NM, Heidal KB, Eskridge KM.Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE 68583-0806, USA. pgooder@alltel.net The purpose of this pilot study was to test the validity and reliability of a quantitative n-3 fatty acid food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for later use with larger groups of individuals. A convenience sample of heart patients provided dietary data via three 24hour food recalls and FFQs. Participants were women (n=17) and men (n=11), 43 to 77 years of age. The association of mean daily intake of n-3 fatty acids obtained using food recalls and the FFQ was assessed by Pearson correlation. The reliability of the FFQ was assessed using coefficient alpha. Correlation of n-3 fatty acid intake using the food recalls and the FFQ was r=0.42 (P<0.05). The coefficient alpha for the test-retest of the FFQ was .83. The top two foods, walnuts and flaxseed, contributed 58% of the n-3 fatty acid intake, and the third food, salmon, contributed 5%. This quantitative n-3 FFQ is a valid instrument for use in place of food recalls for estimating n-3 fatty acid intakes in heart patients and is a reliable instrument to estimate n-3 fatty acid intakes from plant, animal, and seafood sources. The FFQ should be tested in a larger population. Registered dietitians can use this FFQ to screen for intakes, educate patients on food sources, and measure change in intakes after nutrition intervention.

Acute irritant contact dermatitis due to Juglans regia.:Contact Dermatitis. 2006 Jul;55(1):62-3.Neri I, Bianchi F, Giacomini F, Patrizi A.Department of Specialistic and Experimental Clinical Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. iria.neri@tin.it Juglone is the active ingredient of the green flesh of walnuts and is known to be a strong irritant. We report the first two paediatric cases of contact pigmentation and acute irritant

contact dermatitis due to the juice of green walnut husks in two young nursery-school playmates.

n-3 fatty acid dietary recommendations and food sources to achieve essentiality and cardiovascular benefits.:Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6 Suppl):1526S-1535S. Review.Gebauer SK, Psota TL, Harris WS, Kris-Etherton PM.Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Dietary recommendations have been made for n-3 fatty acids, including alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to achieve nutrient adequacy and to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. These recommendations are based on a large body of evidence from epidemiologic and controlled clinical studies. The n-3 fatty acid recommendation to achieve nutritional adequacy, defined as the amount necessary to prevent deficiency symptoms, is 0.6-1.2% of energy for ALA; up to 10% of this can be provided by EPA or DHA. To achieve recommended ALA intakes, food sources including flaxseed and flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil, and canola oil are recommended. The evidence base supports a dietary recommendation of approximately 500 mg/d of EPA and DHA for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. For treatment of existing cardiovascular disease, 1 g/d is recommended. These recommendations have been embraced by many health agencies worldwide. A dietary strategy for achieving the 500-mg/d recommendation is to consume 2 fish meals per week (preferably fatty fish). Foods enriched with EPA and DHA or fish oil supplements are a suitable alternate to achieve recommended intakes and may be necessary to achieve intakes of 1 g/d.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 in laminae of black walnut extract treated horses correlates with neutrophil abundance.:Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2006 Oct 15;113(34):267-76. Epub 2006 Jul 5.Loftus JP, Belknap JK, Black SJ.Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Paige Laboratory, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. We sought to determine whether a correlation exists between neutrophil infiltration and tissue matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) content in digital laminae collected during the prodromal and acute phases of laminitis in horses treated with an aqueous black walnut heartwood extract (BWE). Hoof laminar tissue was obtained at the onset of leukopenia and at the onset of clinical signs of lameness from BWE-treated horses and at equivalent times from control horses. Thin sections of laminae were screened for neutrophils by immunohistochemistry with an anti-CD13 monoclonal antibody and extracts of the same tissues were screened for SDS-renaturable and native MMP-9 activities by denaturing and non-denaturing gelatin zymography. Samples were also screened for MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expression by RT-qPCR. Control laminae were devoid of both MMP-9 and neutrophils, whereas neutrophils and SDS-renaturable MMP-9 activity were detected in laminae from BWE-treated horses and were strongly correlated at the acute stage of the disease at which time laminar MMP-9 gene expression was significantly (15-fold) elevated. In contrast, BWE-treatment did not significantly elevate MMP-2 gene or protein expression in the laminae. Interestingly, MMP-9 that was present in extracts of laminae from BWEtreated horses at both the prodromal and acute stages of the disease was mainly in the zymogen form, suggesting that the accumulation of the MMP did not contribute to pathology during these stages. However, elevated presence of the MMP-9 zymogen in the tissue would predispose it to catastrophic damage should conditions arise that cleave the regulatory propeptide domain.

Chemical composition of selected edible nut seeds.:J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Jun 28;54(13):4705-14.Venkatachalam M, Sathe SK.Department of Nutrition, Food &

Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1493, USA. Commercially important edible nut seeds were analyzed for chemical composition and moisture sorption. Moisture (1.47-9.51%), protein (7.50-21.56%), lipid (42.88-66.71%), ash (1.16-3.28%), total soluble sugars (0.55-3.96%), tannins (0.01-0.88%), and phytate (0.150.35%) contents varied considerably. Regardless of the seed type, lipids were mainly composed of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids (>75% of the total lipids). Fatty acid composition analysis indicated that oleic acid (C18:1) was the main constituent of monounsaturated lipids in all seed samples. With the exception of macadamia, linoleic acid (C18:2) was the major polyunsaturated fatty acid. In the case of walnuts, in addition to linoleic acid (59.79%) linolenic acid (C18:3) also significantly contributed toward the total polyunsaturated lipids. Amino acid composition analyses indicated lysine (Brazil nut, cashew nut, hazelnut, pine nut, and walnut), sulfur amino acids methionine and cysteine (almond), tryptophan (macadamia, pecan), and threonine (peanut) to be the first limiting amino acid as compared to human (2-5 year old) amino acid requirements. The amino acid composition of the seeds was characterized by the dominance of hydrophobic (range = 37.16-44.54%) and acidic (27.95-33.17%) amino acids followed by basic (16.16-21.17%) and hydrophilic (8.48-11.74%) amino acids. Trypsin inhibitory activity, hemagglutinating activity, and proteolytic activity were not detected in the nut seed samples analyzed. Sorption isotherms (Aw range = 0.08-0.97) indicated a narrow range for monolayer water content (11-29 mg/g of dry matter). No visible mold growth was evident on any of the samples stored at Aw < 0.53 and 25 degrees C for 6 months.

Alpha-linolenic acid content of commonly available nuts in Hangzhou.:Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2006 Jan;76(1):18-21.Li D, Yao T, Siriamornpun S.Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. duoli@zju.edu.cn The total lipid content of eight species of nuts available in Hangzhou ranged from 49.5 g/100 g weight in Cannabis sativa to 75.4 g/100 g in walnut. The predominant content of lipid is triacylglycerol, ranging from 91.1% in Cannabis sativa to 98.4% in macadamia. There were two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in all nuts analyzed; 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3. The content of 18:3n-3 ranging from 0.2% in almond to 15.2% in Cannabis sativa, 18:2n-6 ranged from 2.5% in macadamia to 61.6% in pine nut. The proportion of total PUFA in analyzed eight nut species ranging from 2.8% in macadamia to 71.7% in walnut (p < 0.001). Monounsaturated fatty acid composition ranged from 18.0% in Cannabis sativa to 82.6% in macadamia (p < 0.001). The proportion of saturated fatty acid ranged from 7.4% in filbert to 14.7% of total fatty acids in macadamia (p < 0.001). No C20 fatty acids were detected in any of the samples in the present study. The lipids content and fatty acid compositions in analyzed samples were varied between nut species. Cannabis sativa and walnut contained relatively high 18:3n-3, consumption of several these nuts each day can contribute to n-3 PUFA intake, especially for the vegetarian population.

Physioecological characteristics of walnut under different soil water conditions.:Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2006 Feb;17(2):171-6. Chinese.Fan J, Chen Y, Zhao P.College of Forestry, Northuest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling 712100, China. fjsh011@163.com The study with completely randomized design on Loess Plateau showed that soil water storage, water consumption, and water profit and loss had a positive correlation with the amount of irrigation. Managed with light, moderate and excessive pruning, soil water storage was increased by 0.2%, 0.5% and 0.9%, soil water consumption was reduced by 0.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%, while soil water profit and loss was increased by 150%, 190% and 210%, respectively. Under treatments with irrigation, covering with grass, mulching with plastic film, and pruning, soil water storage was increased by 4.4%, 1.2%, 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Irrigation, moderate pruning, covering with grass, and mulching with plastic film could increase leaf water potential and the angle between little leaf and stem, and excessive pruning could increase the chlorophyll content at most extent (0.27 mg x dm(-

2)). The angle between little leaf and stem had a positive correlation with leaf water potential, which could be a reliable, direct and punctual index in evaluating the water condition of walnut and soil, and applied extensively in practice.

Walnuts reduce aortic ET-1 mRNA levels in hamsters fed a high-fat, atherogenic diet.:J Nutr. 2006 Feb;136(2):428-32.Davis P, Valacchi G, Pagnin E, Shao Q, Gross HB, Calo L, Yokoyama W.Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. padavis@ucdavis.edu Walnut consumption is associated with reduced coronary vascular disease (CVD) risk; however, the mechanisms responsible remain incompletely understood. Recent clinical studies suggested that these mechanisms involve non-plasma lipid-related effects on endothelial function. Male Golden Syrian hamsters (12 groups, n=10-15) were fed for 26 wk atherosclerotic, high-fat, hyperlipidemic diets with increasing concentrations of whole walnuts (61-150 g/kg diet), or alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T, 8.1-81 mg/kg diet) and single diets with either walnut oil (32 g/kg diet) or pure gamma-tocopherol (gamma-T; 81 mg/kg diet) added. Aortic endothelin 1 (ET-1), an important endothelial regulator, was assayed as mRNA. Aortic cholesterol ester (CE) concentration along with other vascular stress markers (Cu/Zn and Mn superoxide dismutase, biliverdin reductase) and plasma lipid concentrations were determined. Hyperlipidemia (plasma LDL cholesterol approximately 6 times normal) occurred in all groups. Aortic CE concentration, a measure of atherosclerotic plaque, was highest in the lowest alpha-T only group and declined significantly with increasing alpha-T. The aortic CE of all walnut groups was decreased significantly relative to the lowest alpha-T only group but showed no dose response. The diets did not produce changes in the other vascular stress markers, whereas aortic ET-1 mRNA levels declined dramatically with increasing dietary walnuts (to a 75% reduction in the highest walnut content group compared with the lowest alpha-T group) but were unaltered in the alpha-T groups or gamma-T group. The study results are consistent with those of human walnut feeding studies and suggest that the mechanisms underlying those results are mediated in part by ET-1-dependent mechanisms. The contrasting results between the alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol diets and the walnut diets also make it unlikely that the non-plasma lipid-related CVD effects of walnuts are due to their alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol content. Finally, the results indicate that the walnut fat compartment is a likely location for the components responsible for the reduced aortic CE concentration.

Black walnut extract-induced laminitis in horses is associated with heterogeneous dysfunction of the laminar microvasculature.:Equine Vet J. 2005 Nov;37(6):546-51.Peroni JF, Harrison WE, Moore JN, Graves JE, Lewis SJ, Krunkosky TM, Robertson TP.Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Comparative Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-7389, USA. REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Equine laminitis purportedly involves haemodynamic dysfunction at the level of the laminar vasculature. However, to date, no studies have been performed characterising the function of laminar arteries and veins during the prodromal stages of equine laminitis. HYPOTHESIS: That the prodromal stages of laminitis are associated with contractile dysfunction of the equine laminar vasculature. OBJECTIVE: To assess contractile function of laminar arteries and veins to phenylephrine (PE) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). METHODS: Horses were administered black walnut heartwood extract (BWHE) or water (control horses) via nasogastric intubation. After euthanasia, laminar vessels (100-800 microm internal diameter) were isolated and mounted on small vessel myographs to assess contractile function. RESULTS: Contractile responses to PE or 5-HT were identical in laminar arteries isolated from either control horses or those administered BWHE. In contrast, responses to PE or 5-HT were significantly reduced in laminar veins isolated from BWHE-administered horses when compared with laminar veins isolated from control horses. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: These results are consistent with the prodromal stages of

laminitis being associated with selective dysfunction of laminar veins. Further studies are required to discern the precise nature of this dysfunction and its potential relevance to the pathogenesis of acute laminitis in the horse and possible therapeutic targets for treatment.

Walnut consumption in hyperlipidemic patients.:Angiology. 2005 SepOct;56(5):581-3.Zibaeenezhad MJ, Shamsnia SJ, Khorasani M.Cardiovascular Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Zibaeem2@sums.ac.ir Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is described as an anticancer, tonic, blood purifier, and detoxifier agent. It is said that nuts have favorable fatty acids and nutrients. This study was performed to determine the lipid-lowering properties of walnut in a population in Shiraz, Southern Iran. In a randomized case-control study, 52 volunteers were divided into 2 groups: Group A consumed walnuts, 20 grams per day for 8 weeks and the control group (group B) consumed no walnuts. Triglycerides, total high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were checked for each subject prior to, after 4 weeks, and at 8 weeks after the beginning of the study. In group A, the mean plasma TG level dropped by 17.1% from the baseline and HDL cholesterol also increased significantly by 9%. It was shown that frequent consumption of nuts in the daily diet was associated with a potentially decreased risk of coronary artery disease by decreasing the level of triglyceride and increasing the level of HDL.

A systematic review of the effects of nuts on blood lipid profiles in humans.:J Nutr. 2005 Sep;135(9):2082-9. Review.Mukuddem-Petersen J, Oosthuizen W, Jerling JC.School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Science, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa. The inverse association of nut consumption and risk markers of coronary heart disease (lipids) has sparked the interest of the scientific and lay community. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to investigate the effects of nuts on the lipid profile. Medline and Web of Science databases were searched from the start of the database to August 2004 and supplemented by cross-checking reference lists of relevant publications. Human intervention trials with the objective of investigating independent effects of nuts on lipid concentrations were included. From the literature search, 415 publications were screened and 23 studies were included. These papers received a rating based upon the methodology as it appeared in the publication. No formal statistical analysis was performed due to the large differences in study designs of the dietary intervention trials. The results of 3 almond (50-100 g/d), 2 peanut (35-68 g/d), 1 pecan nut (72 g/d), and 4 walnut (40-84 g/d) studies showed decreases in total cholesterol between 2 and 16% and LDL cholesterol between 2 and 19% compared with subjects consuming control diets. Consumption of macadamia nuts (50-100 g/d) produced less convincing results. In conclusion, consumption of approximately 50-100 g (approximately 1.5-3.5 servings) of nuts > or = 5 times/wk as part of a heart-healthy diet with total fat content (high in mono- and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids) of approximately 35% of energy may significantly decrease total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in normo- and hyperlipidemic individuals.

Quantitation of triacylglycerols in plant oils using HPLC with APCI-MS, evaporative light-scattering, and UV detection.:J Sep Sci. 2005 Aug;28(12):1315-33.Holcapek M, Lsa M, Jandera P, Kabtov N.Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic. Michal.Holcapek@upce.cz

The main constituents of plant oils are complex mixtures of TGs differing in acyl chain lengths, number and positions of double bonds, and regioisomerism. A non-aqueous reversed-phase HPLC method with acetonitrile-2-propanol gradient and 30 + 15 cm NovaPak C18 columns makes possible an unambiguous identification of the highest number of TGs ever reported for these oils, based on positive-ion APCI mass spectra. A new approach to TG quantitation is based on the use of response factors with three typical detection techniques for that purpose (APCI-MS, evaporative light-scattering detection, and UV at 205 nm). Response factors of 23 single-acid TGs (saturated TGs from C7 to C22, 7 unsaturated TGs), 4 mixed-acid TGs, diolein and monoolein are calculated from their calibration curves and related to OOO. Due to differences between saturated and unsaturated acyl chains, the use of response factors significantly improves the quantitation of TGs. 133 TGs containing 22 fatty acids with 8-25 carbon atoms and 0-3 double bonds are identified and quantified in 9 plant oils (walnut, hazelnut, cashew nut, almond, poppy seed, yellow melon, mango, fig, date) using HPLC/APCI-MS with a response factor approach. Average parameters and relative fatty acid concentrations are calculated with both HPLC/APCI-MS and GC/ FID.

(7Z,9E)-2-methyl-7,9-octadecadiene: a sex pheromone component of Lymantria bantaizana.:J Chem Ecol. 2005 Apr;31(4):879-91.Gries R, Khaskin G, Gotoh T, Schaefer PW, Gries G. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. gries@sfu.ca Our objective was to identify the sex pheromone of Lymantria bantaizana (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) whose larvae feed exclusively on walnut, Juglans spp., in China, and Japan. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of pheromone gland extracts revealed a single EAD-active component. Retention index calculations of this compound on four GC columns suggested that it was a methylbranched octadecadiene with conjugated double bonds. In GC-EAD analyses of 2methyloctadecenes, (Z)-2-methyl-7-octadecene and (E)-2-methyl-7-octadecene elicited the strongest antennal responses, suggesting that the double bond positions were at C7 and C9. In comparative GC-EAD analyses of pheromone gland extract and stereoselectively synthesized isomers (E,E; E,Z; Z,E; Z,Z) of 2-methyl-7,9-octadecadiene, the (E,Z)- and (Z,E)-isomer had retention times identical to that of the candidate pheromone, but only the latter isomer elicited strong EAD activity. Results of field experiments in Japan substantiated that (7Z,9E)-2-methyl-7,9-octadecadiene is the L. bantaizana sex pheromone, a compound previously unknown in the Lepidoptera. Detection surveys in North America for exotic Eurasian forest defoliators could include traps baited with the L. bantaizana pheromone.

Effect of increasing the omega-3 fatty acid in the diets of animals on the animal products consumed by humans.:Med Sci (Paris). 2005 Aug-Sep;21(8-9):773-9. Review. French.Bourre JM.INSERM U.705, CNRS UMR 7157, 200 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75745 Paris Cedex 10, France. jean-marie.bourre@fwidal.inserm.fr As shown by huge amount of assays in human as well as in animal models, w-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids play important role in the development and maintenance of different organs, primarily the brain, and could be useful in the prevention of different pathologies, mainly the cardiovascular diseases, and, as proposed recently, some psychiatric, dermatological or rheumatological disorders. For ALA, the major and cheapest source for human is rapeseed oil (canola oil), and walnut "noix de Grenoble" oil). The actual goal is first to identify which foods are naturally rich in w-3 fatty acids, and, second, to determine the true impact of the formulations (enriched in w-3 fatty acids) in chows used on farms and breeding centres on the nutritional value of the products and thus their effect on the health of consumers, thanks to quantities of either ALA, or EPA or DHA or both. This concern fish (in proportion of their lipid content, mainly mackerel, salmon, sardine and herring), eggs (wildly naturally rich in w-3 fatty acids, both ALA and DHA, or from laying hen fed ALA from linseed or rapeseed), meat from birds, mammals

(from the highest concentration : rabbit, then pig and monogastrics, then polygastrics such as beef, mutton and goat) \; in butter, milk, dairy products, cheese (all naturally poor in w-3 fatty acids)... Indeed, the nature of fatty acids of reserve triglycerides (found in more or less large amounts depending on the anatomical localisation, that is to say the butcher's cuts) can vary mainly as a function of the food received by the animal. EPA and DHA are mainly present in animal's products. The impact (qualitative and quantitative) of alterations in the lipid composition of animal foods on the nutritional value of derived products (in terms of EPA and DHA content) eaten by humans are more important in single-stomach animals than multi-stomach animals (due to their hydrogenating intestinal bacteria). The intestinal physiology of birds results in the relatively good preservation of their dietary w-3 fatty acids. The enrichment in eggs is proportional to the amount of w-3 fatty acids in the hen's diet and can be extremely important. Including ALA in fish feeds is effective only if they are, like carp, vegetarians, as they have the enzymes required to transform ALA into EPA and DHA \; in contrast, it is probably less effective for carnivorous fish (75 % of the fish used for human), which have little of these enzymes : their feed must contain marine animals, mainly fish or fish oil. Analysis of the published results shows that, under the best conditions, feeding animals with extracts of linseed and rapeseed grains, for example, increases the level of ALA acid by 20 to 40-fold in eggs (according to the low or high level of ALA in commercial eggs), 10-fold in chicken, 6-fold in pork and less than 2-fold in beef. By feeding animals with fish extracts or algae (oils), the level of DHA is increased by 20-fold in fish, 7-fold in chicken, 3 to 6-fold in eggs, less than 2-fold in beef. In practise, the effect is considerable for fish and egg, interesting for poultry and rabbit, extremely low for beef, mutton and sheep. The effect on the price paid by the consumer is very low compared to the considerable gain in nutritional value.

Studies on the constituents of Juglans species. I. Structural determination of (4S)- and (4R)-4-hydroxy-alpha-tetralone derivatives from the fruit of Juglans mandshurica.MAXIM. var. sieboldiana MAKINO:Chem Pharm Bull. 2005 Aug;53(8):934-7. Four enantiomerically pure new alpha-tetralones, (4S)- and (4R)-5-hydroxy-4-methoxyalpha-tetralones and (4S)- and (4R)-5,8-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-alpha-tetralones were isolated, together with five known ones, (4S)- and (4R)-4,8-dihydroxy-alpha-tetralones, (4S)-4,8-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-alpha-tetralone and (4S)- and (4R)-4-hydroxy-alphatetralones, from the fruit of Juglans mandshurica MAXIM. var. sieboldiana MAKINO. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first isolation of the (4R)-4-hydroxy-alpha-tetralone derivative from Juglans species.

Phenolic acids, syringaldehyde, and juglone in fruits of different cultivars of Juglans regia L.:J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Aug 10;53(16):6390-6.Colaric M, Veberic R, Solar A, Hudina M, Stampar F.Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. mateja.colaric@bf.uni-lj.si Phenolic acids (chlorogenic, caffeic, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, ellagic, and syringic acid) as well as syringaldehyde and juglone were identified in ripe fruits of 10 walnut cultivars: Adams, Cisco, Chandler, Franquette, Lara, Fernor, Fernette, Alsoszentivani 117 (A-117), Rasna, and Elit. Analyses were done using a high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a diode array detector. Significant differences in the contents of identified phenolics were observed among cultivars. Phenolics were determined separately in the kernel and in the thin skin of the walnut, termed the pellicle. Not only in the kernel but also in the pellicle did syringic acid, juglone, and ellagic acid predominate (average values of 33.83, 11.75, and 5.90 mg/100 g of kernel; and 1003.24, 317.90, and 128.98 mg/100 g of pellicle, respectively), and the contents of ferulic and sinapic acid (average values of 0.06 and 0.05 mg/100 g of kernel and 2.93 and 2.17 mg/100 g of pellicle, respectively) were the lowest in all cultivars. The highest differences in the sum of all identified phenolics were observed between Rasna and Fernette fruits; in

Rasna there were >2-fold higher contents of identified phenolics in both kernel and pellicle. It was found that the walnut pellicle is the most important source of walnut phenolics. The ratio between the contents in pellicle and kernel varied by at least 14.8-fold for caffeic acid (cv. Adams) and by up to 752.0-fold for p-coumaric acid (cv. Elit).

Study on the effects of cool and hot ethanol extracts from qinglongyi on the biochemical function of tumor membrane in H22 mice:Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2005 Apr;30(7):531-4. Chinese.Ji YB, Ji CF, Ma HT.Postdoctal Research of the Institute of Materia Medica, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin 150076, China. JYB@hrbcu.edu.cn OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of cool and hot ethanol extracts from Qinglongyi on tumor membrane protein content, lipid fluidity, and membrane close capability in H22 mice. METHOD: The membrane protein content, by, lipid fluidity and membrane close capability were measured by means of SDS-PAGE, skinitzky assay and Zamudio method respectively. RESULT: The cool and hot ethanol extracts from Qinglongyi decreased the content of tumor membrane protein, the lipid fluidity and membrane close capability. CONCLUSION: The cool and hot ethanol extracts from Qinglongyi can change the biochemical substance and biochemical function to cause disaggregation and death of the tumor cell, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor of Qinglongyi.

Structured dietary advice incorporating walnuts achieves optimal fat and energy balance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.:J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Jul;105(7):108796. Gillen LJ, Tapsell LC, Patch CS, Owen A, Batterham M.Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. ljg01@uow.edu.au OBJECTIVE: A cardioprotective dietary fat profile is recommended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The clinical feasibility of advice strategies targeting specific fatty acid intakes and the extent to which they can be achieved by free-living populations needs to be tested. Walnuts, with high n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content, may help optimize fatty acid intakes, but regular consumption might increase total fat and energy intakes. This study examined whether advice that refers to a total dietary pattern inclusive of walnuts would result in low-fat energy-controlled diets with optimal dietary fat proportions for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A parallel-design, controlled trial was completed by 55 free-living men and women with established type 2 diabetes mellitus. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: low-fat (general advice), modified low-fat (total diet advice using exchange lists to differentiate PUFA-rich foods), walnut-specific (modified low fat including 30 g walnuts/day). Dietary intakes and clinical outcomes were measured at baseline, and at 3 and 6 months. Dietary goals were: less than 10% of energy from saturated fat, 7% to 10% of energy from PUFA, adequate n-3 PUFA (>or=2.22 g alphalinolenic acid, >or=0.65 g eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA]+docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) and n-6 to n-3 ratio less than 10. The proportion of subjects achieving dietary goals and major food sources of fat were determined. RESULTS: At baseline, dietary intakes were not significantly different between groups. No group and few individuals (10%) were consuming adequate PUFA, with meat the main source of dietary fat (22% total dietary fat). At 3 and 6 months, energy and macronutrient intakes were similar among groups. The walnut group, however, was the only group to achieve all fatty acid intake targets (P <.01), and had the greatest proportion of subjects achieving targets ( P <.05). Walnuts were the main source of dietary fat (31%) and n-3 PUFA (50%), while 350 g oily fish/day provided a further 17% n-3 PUFA consumed by this group. CONCLUSIONS: Specific advice for the regular inclusion of walnuts in the context of the total diet helps achieve optimal fat intake proportions without adverse effects on total fat or energy intakes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Melatonin in walnuts: influence on levels of melatonin and total antioxidant capacity of blood.:Nutrition. 2005 Sep;21(9):920-4.Reiter RJ, Manchester LC, Tan DX.Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA. reiter@uthscsa.edu OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether melatonin is present in walnuts (Juglans regia L.) and, if so, tested whether eating walnuts influences melatonin levels and the total antioxidant status of the blood. METHODS: Melatonin was extracted from walnuts and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. After feeding walnuts to rats, serum melatonin concentrations were measured using a radioimmunoassay and the "total antioxidant power" of the serum was estimated by using the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and ferric-reducing ability of serum methods. RESULTS: Mean +/- standard error melatonin concentrations were 3.5 +/- 1.0 ng/g of walnut. After food restriction of rats and then feeding them regular chow or walnuts, blood melatonin concentrations in the animals that ate walnuts were increased over those in the rats fed the control diet. Increases in blood melatonin were also accompanied by increases in trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and ferric-reducing ability of serum values. CONCLUSIONS: Melatonin is present in walnuts and, when eaten, increase blood melatonin concentrations. The increase in blood melatonin levels correlates with an increased antioxidative capacity of this fluid as reflected by augmentation of trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and ferric-reducing ability of serum values.

Walnut extract inhibits the fibrillization of amyloid beta-protein, and also defibrillizes its preformed fibrils.:Curr Alzheimer Res. 2004 Aug;1(3):183-8.Chauhan N, Wang KC, Wegiel J, Malik MN.NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA. NChauhan08@aol.com Fibrillar amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) is the principal component of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. We have studied the effect of walnut extract on Abeta fibrillization by Thioflavin T fluorescence spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The walnut extract not only inhibited Abeta fibril formation in a concentration and time- dependent manner but it was also able to defibrillize Abeta preformed fibrils. Over 90% inhibition of Abeta fibrillization was observed with 5 microl of methanolic extract of walnut (MEOW) both after 2 and 3 days of incubation. The maximum defibrillization (91.6%) was observed when preformed Abeta fibrils were incubated with 10 microl of MEOW for 2 days. These results suggest that walnuts may reduce the risk or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by maintaining Abeta in the soluble form. Further studies showed that anti-amyloidogenic compound in walnut is an organic compound of molecular weight less than 10 kDa, which is neither a lipid nor a protein. Chloroform extract of walnut had no effect on Abeta fibrillization while MEOW and its 10 kDa filtrate inhibited Abeta fibrillization equally. It is proposed that polyphenolic compounds (such as flavonoids) present in walnuts may be responsible for its anti-amyloidogenic activity.

The antimicrobial activities of Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts to acne-developing organisms.:Am J Chin Med. 2005;33(2):197-204.Qadan F, Thewaini AJ, Ali DA, Afifi R, Elkhawad A, Matalka KZ.Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Technology, The University of Petra PO. Box 961343, Amman, Jordan. f_qadan@yahoo.com This study aims to present the in vitro inhibitory effect of Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts on the main developer of acne lesions, Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), and other organisms that are isolated from acne lesions. Thirty-eight subjects (males and females) who had various types of acne were enrolled in the study. The contents of the acne lesions were cultured and the frequency of P. acnes (alone and with Staphylococci spp.) was 47%, whereas the frequencies for Staphylococcus aureus and

Staphylococcus epidermidis were 13% and 24%, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts, determined by disk diffusion method (zone of inhibition), were compared to tea tree oil (TTO), doxycycline and clindamycin antibiotics. The zones of inhibition due to the Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts ranged from 15.8-17.6 mm against P. acnes, 11.3-15.7 mm against S. aureus and 12.9-15.5 mm against S. epidermidis, respectively. These zones of inhibition were significantly higher than those of TTO and equivalent in case of Staphylococci spp., but less in case of P. acnes, to those obtained from doxycycline or clindamycin. It can be concluded that Psidium guajava and Juglans regia leaf extracts may be beneficial in treating acne especially when they are known to have anti-inflammatory activities.

Free radical scavenging and hepatoprotective constituents from the leaves of Juglans sinensis.:Arch Pharm Res. 2005 May;28(5):529-33.An RB, Kim HC, Tian YH, Kim YC.College of Pharmacy and Phytofermentation Research Center, Wonkwang University, Iksan 570-749, Korea. In the course of searching for hepatoprotective agents from natural products, six compounds were isolated from the MeOH extract of the leaves of Juglans sinensis, as guided by their DPPH free radical scavenging activity. The structures were determined as juglanoside B (1), quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside (avicularin, 2), quercetin 3-Oalpha-L-arabinopyranoside (guaijaverin, 3), quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (quercitrin, 4), (+)-catechin (5) and quercetin 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (hyperin, 6). Compounds 2-6 showed significant DPPH free radical scavenging effects. An evaluation for the hepatoprotective activity of the isolated compounds on drug-induced cytotoxicity was conducted, and compounds 1, 2, and 5 showed protective effects against nitrofurantoin-induced cytotoxicity, and compound 5 also exhibited a moderate protective effect on amiodarone-induced cytotoxicity in Hep G2 cells.

Vitamin E composition of walnuts (Juglans regia L.): a 3-year comparative study of different cultivars.:J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Jun 29;53(13):5467-72.Amaral JS, Alves MR, Seabra RM, Oliveira BP.REQUIMTE, Servi?os de Farmacognosia and Bromatologia, Faculdade de Farmcia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal. The tocopherol and tocotrienol composition of walnuts (Juglans regia L.) was determined for nine cultivars (cvs. Arco, Franquette, Hartley, Lara, Marbot, Mayette, Mellanaise, Parisienne, and Rego). Walnuts were harvested over three consecutive years from two different geographical origins (Bragan?a and Coimbra, Portugal), for a total of 26 samples. The methodology employed was a normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a series arrangement of a diode array detector followed by a fluorescence detector, allowing the simultaneous analysis of all tocopherols and tocotrienols. The analyses showed that all samples presented a similar qualitative profile composed of five compounds: alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, and gamma-tocotrienol. gamma-Tocopherol was the major compound in all samples, ranging from 172.6 to 262.0 mg/kg, followed by alpha- and delta-tocopherols, ranging from 8.7 to 16.6 mg/kg and from 8.2 to 16.9 mg/kg, respectively. Multivariate analysis of the data obtained showed the existence of significant differences in composition among cultivars. These differences were also significant when cultivars were grouped by year of production, showing that besides genetic factors, the vitamin E composition was influenced by environmental factors.

Study of the main constituents of some authentic walnut oils.:J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Jun 15;53(12):4853-60.Crews C, Hough P, Godward J, Brereton P, Lees M, Guiet S, inkelmann W.Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, United Kingdom. c.crews@csl.gov.uk

This paper describes the composition of walnut oils obtained from nuts collected from seven countries that are major suppliers of walnut oil. Oils were extracted from the nuts using small-scale industry pressing equipment and analyzed using standard methods for fatty acids, fatty acids in the triacylglycerol 2-position, tocopherols and tocotrienols, triacylglycerols, sterols, steradienes, and iodine value. Values for the composition of the sterols, triacylglycerols, fatty acids, iodine value, and tocopherol composition were generally in good agreement with the results of previous similar surveys. Tocotrienols were not detected in any sample. Steradienes (stigmastadiene, campestadiene, stigmastatriene, and campestatriene) were not detected in any oil.

Thermostabilities of plant phenol oxidase and peroxidase, determining the technology of their use in food industry.:Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol. 2005 Mar-Apr;41(2):16570. Russian. Mchedlishvili NI, Omiadze NT, Gulua LK, Sadunishvili TA, Zamtaradze RK, Abutidze MO, Bendeliani EG, Kvesitadze GI. Stabilities of phenol oxidase and peroxidase from tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) clone Kolkhida leaves, apple (Malus domestica L.) cultivar Kekhura fruits, walnut (Juglans regia L.) green pericarp, and horseradish (Armoracia lapathifolia Gilib) roots were studied using different storage temperature modes and storage duration. It was demonstrated that both enzymes retained residual activities (approximately 10%) upon 20-min incubation at 80 degrees C. Phenol oxidases from tea, walnut, and, especially, apple, as well as tea peroxidase were stable during storage. A technology for treatment of plant oxidases was proposed, based on the use of a natural inhibitor phenol oxidase and peroxidase, isolated from tea leaves, which solving the problem of residual activities of these enzymes, arising during pasteurization and storage of beverages and juices. It was demonstrated that browning of apple juice during pasteurization and beer turbidity during storage could be efficiently prevented using the natural inhibitor of these enzymes.

Omega-3 fatty acids in mood disorders.:Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi. 2005;107(2):118-26.Ohara K.Department of Psychiatry, Shinshiro Municipal Hospital. The etiology and treatment of mood disorders has not yet been elucidated. Omega (omega)-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids, which cannot be synthesized in the human body. Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are representative omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish (eg., mackerel, herring, Chinook salmon) and vegetables (eg., flax, walnut, canola). The peripheral level of EPA and DHA decrease in patients with major depression, and EPA is useful for its treatment. Further research is required on omega-3 fatty acids in patients with mood disorders.

Investigation of the effect of black walnut extract on in vitro ion transport and structure of equine colonic mucosa.:Am J Vet Res. 2005 Mar;66(3):443-9.McConnico RS, Stokes AM, Eades SC, Moore RM.Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. OBJECTIVE: To examine the secretory response (in the presence and absence of prostaglandin inhibition) in vitro and structural alterations of colonic mucosa in horses after intragastric administration of black walnut extract (BWE). ANIMALS: 14 adult horses. PROCEDURE: Seven horses were administered BWE intragastrically and monitored for 11 hours. Tissue samples were obtained from the right ventral, left ventral, and right dorsal colons (RVC, LVC, and RDC, respectively) of the 7 BWE-treated and 7 control horses. Tissue samples were examined via light microscopy, and the extent of hemorrhage, edema, and granulocytic cellular infiltration (neutrophils and eosinophils) was graded. Colonic mucosal segments were incubated with or without flunixin meglumine (FLM) for 240 minutes; spontaneous electrical potential difference and short-circuit current (Isc)

were recorded and used to calculate mucosal resistance. RESULTS: Colonic tissues from BWE-treated horses (with or without FLM exposure) had an overall greater Isc during the 240-minute incubation period, compared with tissues from control horses. The resistance pattern in RVC, LVC, and RDC samples (with or without FLM exposure) from BWE-treated horses was decreased overall, compared with control tissues (with or without FLM exposure). Histologically, colonic mucosal tissues from BWE-treated horses had more severe inflammation (involving primarily eosinophils), edema, and hemorrhage, compared with tissue from control horses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In horses, BWE administration appears to cause an inflammatory response in colonic mucosal epithelium that results in mucosal barrier compromise as indicated by decreased mucosal resistance with presumed concomitant electrogenic chloride secretory response, which is not associated with prostaglandin mediation.

Dietary omega-3 Fatty acids and psychiatry: mood, behaviour, stress, depression, dementia and aging.:J Nutr Health Aging. 2005;9(1):31-8. Review.Bourre JM.French Academy of Medicine, INSERM department of Neuro-pharmaco-nutrition, H?pital Fernand Widal, 75475 Paris cedex 10. jean-marie.bourre@fwidal.inserm.fr In view of the high omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty acid content of the brain, it is evident that these fats are involved in brain biochemistry, physiology and functioning; and thus in some neuropsychiatric diseases and in the cognitive decline of ageing. Though omega-3 fatty acids (from fatty fish in the human diet) appear effective in the prevention of stress, their role as regulator of mood and of libido is a matter for discussion pending experimental proof in animal and human models. Dietary omega-3 fatty acids play a role in the prevention of some disorders including depression, as well as in dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Their direct role in major depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disease) and schizophrenia is not yet established. Their deficiency can prevent the renewal of membranes, and thus accelerate cerebral ageing; none the less, the respective roles of the vascular component on one hand (where the omega-3's are active) and the cerebral parenchyma itself on the other, have not yet been clearly resolved. The role of omega-3 in certain diseases such as dyslexia and autism is suggested. In fact, omega-3 fatty acids participated in the first coherent experimental demonstration of the effect of dietary substances (nutrients) on the structure and function of the brain. Experiments were first of all carried out one x-vivo cultured brain cells (1), then on in vivo brain cells(2), finally on physiochemical, biochemical, physiological, neurosensory, and behavioural parameters (3). These findings indicated that the nature of poly unsaturated fatty acids(in particular omega-3) present in formula milks for infants (both premature and term) determines the visual, cerebral,and intellectual abilities, as described in a recent review (4). Indeed,the insufficient dietary supply of omega-3 fatty acids in today's French and occidental diet raises the problem of how to correct dietary habits so that the consumer will select foods that are genuinely rich in omega-3/ the omega-3 family ; mainly rapeseed, (canola) and walnut oils on one hand and fatty fish on the other.

Omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatry.:Med Sci (Paris). 2005 Feb;21(2):216-21. Review. French.Bourre JM.Laboratoire de Neuro-pharmacologie-nutrition, Inserm, H?pital Fernand-Widal, 200, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France. jeanmarie.bourre@fwidal.inserm.fr The brain is one of the organs with the highest level of lipids (fats). Brain lipids, formed of fatty acids, participate in the structure of membranes, for instance 50 % fatty acids are polyunsaturated in the gray matter, 1/3 are of the omega-3 family, and are thus of dietary origin. The omega-3 fatty acids (mainly alpha-linolenic acid, ALA) participated in one of the first experimental demonstration of the effect of dietary substances (nutrients) on the structure and function of the brain. Experiments were first of all carried out on ex vivo cultured brain cells, then on in vivo brain cells (neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) from animals fed ALA deficient diet, finally on physicochemical

(membrane fluidity), biochemical, physiological, neurosensory (vision an auditory responses), and behavioural or learning parameters. These findings indicated that the nature of polyunsaturated fatty acids (in particular omega-3) present in formula milks for human infants determines to a certain extend the visual, neurological, and intellectual abilities. Thus, in view of these results and of the high polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the brain, it is normal to consider that they could be involved in psychiatric diseases and in the cognitive decline of ageing. Omega-3 fatty acids appear effective in the prevention of stress, however their role as regulator of mood is a matter for discussion. Indeed, they play a role in the prevention of some disorders including depression (especially post partum), as well as in dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Their role in major depression and bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disease), only poorly documented, is not clearly demonstrated. The intervention of omega-3 in dyslexia, autism, and schizophrenia has been suggested, but it does not necessarily infer a nutritional problems. The respective importance of the vascular system (where the omega-3 are actually active) and the cerebral parenchyma itself, remain to be resolved. However, the insufficient supply of omega-3 fatty acids in today diet in occidental (less than 50 % of the recommended dietary intakes values for ALA) raises the problem of how to correct inadequate dietary habits, by prescribing mainly rapeseed (canola) and walnut oils on the one hand, fatty fish (wild, or farmed, but the nature of fatty acids present in fish flesh is the direct consequence of the nature of fats with which they have been fed), and eggs from laying hens fed omega-3 fatty acids.

Metabolism of antioxidant and chemopreventive ellagitannins from strawberries, raspberries, walnuts, and oak-aged wine in humans: identification of biomarkers and individual variability. :J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Jan 26;53(2):22735.Cerd B, Toms-Barbern FA, Espn JC.Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, 30100 Campus de Espinardo, Murcia, Spain. Ellagitannins (ETs) are dietary polyphenols, containing ellagic acid (EA) subunits, with antioxidant and cancer chemopreventive activities that might contribute to health benefits in humans. However, little is known about their metabolic fate. We investigate here the metabolism of different dietary ETs and EA derivatives in humans. Forty healthy volunteers were distributed in four groups. Each group consumed, in a single dose, a different ET-containing foodstuff, i.e., strawberries (250 g), red raspberries (225 g), walnuts (35 g), and oak-aged red wine (300 mL). After the intake, five urine fractions (F) were collected at 8 (F1), 16 (F2), 32 (F3), 40 (F4), and 56 (F5) h. Neither ETs nor EA were detected in urine after LC-MS/MS analysis. However, the microbial metabolite 3,8dihydroxy-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-6-one (urolithin B) conjugated with glucuronic acid was detected along the fractions F3-F5 in all of the subjects, independently of the consumed foodstuff. The mean percentage of metabolite excretion ranged from 2.8 (strawberries) to 16.6% (walnuts) regarding the ingested ETs. Considerable interindividual differences were noted, identifying "high and low metabolite excreters" in each group, which supported the involvement of the colonic microflora in ET metabolism. These results indicate that urolithin B (a previously described antiangiogenic and hyaluronidase inhibitor compound) is a biomarker of human exposure to dietary ETs and may be useful in intervention studies with ET-containing products. The antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects of dietary ETs and EA should be considered in the gastrointestinal tract whereas the study of potential systemic activities should be focused on the bioavailable urolithin B derivatives.

Effect of the walnut polyphenol fraction on oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes mice.:Biofactors. 2004;21(1-4):251-3. We examined the in vivo antioxidative effect of a polyphenol-rich walnut extract on oxidative stress in mice with type 2 diabetes. C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice were used as an

accelerated oxidative animal model. The oral administration of the walnut polyphenol fraction at 200 mg/kg body weight for 4 weeks caused a significant decrease in the level of urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosin, which is an in vivo marker of oxidative stress. These results imply that walnut polyphenols have both in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects.

Triacylglycerol composition of walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars: characterization by HPLC-ELSD and chemometrics.:J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Dec 29;52(26):7964-9.Amaral JS, Cunha SC, Alves MR, Pereira JA, Seabra RM, Oliveira BP.REQUIMTE, Servi?os de Farmacognosia and Bromatologia, Faculdade de Farmcia, Universidade do Porto, R. Anbal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal. jamaral@ipb.pt A total of 26 walnut (Juglans regia L.) samples from 9 cultivars (Arco, Franquette, Hartley, Lara, Marbot, Mayette, Mellanaise, Parisienne, and Rego) harvested in the 2001, 2002, and 2003 crop years and grown in two geographical origins (Braganca and Coimbra, Portugal) were evaluated with regard to their triacylglycerol composition. The methodology employed was reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to an evaporative light-scattering detector (RP-HPLC-ELSD) after extraction of the lipidic fraction of the nuts. Nine compounds were separated, identified, and quantified. All samples presented an identical qualitative profile composed by LLnLn, LLLn, LLL, OLLn, OLL, PLL, OOL, and PLO (P = palmitoyl; O = oleoyl; L = linoleoyl; Ln = linonenoyl). Trilinolein (LLL) was the major triglyceride, followed by dilinoeoyl-oleoyl-glycerol (OLL) and dilinoleoyl-linolenoyl-glycerol (LLLn), with mean values of 37.7, 18.5, and 18.4%, respectively. Significant differences in composition were found between cultivars, and these differences were also significant when cultivars were grouped by year of production, showing that besides genetic factors, the triacylglycerol composition can be strongly influenced by environmental factors.

Nuts, cardio and cerebrovascular risks. A Spanish perspective.:Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2004 Jun;54(2):137-48. Review. Spanish.Nus M, Ruperto M, Snchez-Muniz FJ.Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Espa?a. Nuts have been included in human diets for ages. They are very appreciated and used as a central component of sweets and desserts. However, during the last decades, scientific interest in those foods has increased enormously as many epidemiologic studies show protective effects of nut consumption on coronary heart disease in different population groups. To date, many clinical trials have analyzed the positive effects of nuts consumption (almond, walnut, pistachio, Macadamia nut, and pecan) on the lipid profile, decreasing total and low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol. However, whether these effects are only due to their fatty acid composition or to any other bioactive compounds, such as tocopherols, phytosterols and phytoestrogens, it is still unknown. This paper, aims to review comparative composition aspects of nuts, such as the positive effects on body weight, lipoprotein metabolism, and protection against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The inclusion of 25 g/day of nuts, mainly raw, into a prudent diet seems to be recommended. Further investigations, as actual information is still scarce, in order to dilucidate the relationship between nuts consumption and vascular diseases are proposed.

Butter and walnuts, but not olive oil, elicit postprandial activation of nuclear transcription factor kappaB in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy men.:Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1487-91. Bellido C, Lpez-Miranda J, Blanco-Colio LM, PrezMartnez P, Muriana FJ, Martn-Ventura JL, Marn C, Gmez P, Fuentes F, Egido J, Prez-Jimnez F.Lipids and Arteriosclerosis Unit, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofa, Crdoba, Spain. BACKGROUND: Nuclear transcription factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays an important role

in atherosclerosis by modulating gene expression. Postprandial lipemia has been correlated with an increase in NF-kappaB activation in vascular cells and it is associated with an increase in postprandial triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins, which are involved in the development of atherosclerotic plaque. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the intakes of 3 different foods with different fat compositions on the postprandial activation of monocyte NF-kappaB. DESIGN: Eight healthy men followed a 4-wk baseline diet and then consumed 3 fat-load meals consisting of 1 g fat/kg body wt (65% fat) according to a randomized crossover design. Each meal had a different fatty acid composition, and the consumption of each meal was separated by 1 wk. The compositions of the 3 test meals were as follows: olive oil meal [22% saturated fatty acids (SFAs), 38% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), 4% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and 0.7% alpha-linolenic acid], butter meal (38% SFAs, 22% MUFAs, 4% PUFAs, and 0.7% alpha-linolenic acid), and walnut meal (20% SFAs, 24% MUFAs, 16% PUFAs, and 4% alpha-linolenic acid). RESULTS: Ingestion of the olive oil meal did not elicit NF-kappaB activation compared with ingestion of either the butter meal at 3 h (P <0.05) or the walnut meal at 9 h (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in the postprandial triacylglycerol response between the 3 meals. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of an olive oil-enriched meal does not activate NF-kappaB in monocytes as do butter and walnutenriched meals. This effect could enhance the cardioprotective effect of olive oil-enriched diets.

Phloem unloading in developing walnut fruit is symplasmic in the seed pericarp and apoplasmic in the fleshy pericarp.:Plant Cell Physiol. 2004 Oct;45(10):146170.Wu GL, Zhang XY, Zhang LY, Pan QH, Shen YY, Zhang DP.College of Horticultural Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, 030801 Taigu, Shanxi, China. The sieve element-companion cell (SE-CC) complex of the sepal bundles feeding the fleshy pericarp of developing walnut (Juglans regia L.) fruit is structurally symplasmically isolated, but the SE-CC complex of the minor ventral carpellary bundles located in the seed pericarp and feeding the seed is structurally symplasmically connected to its adjacent parenchyma cells. 14C-autoradiography indicated that the phloem of both the sepal and carpellary bundles was functional for unloading. Confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging of carboxyfluorescein unloading showed that the dye is confined to the phloem strands of the sepal bundles in the fleshy pericarp, but released from the phloem strands of the minor ventral carpellary bundles into the surrounding parenchyma cells in the seed pericarp. A 60-kDa acid invertase was immunolocalized to the cell wall of SE-CC complex and parenchyma cells in both the fleshy and seed pericarp. These data provide clear evidence for an apoplasmic phloem unloading pathway in the fleshy pericarp and a predominant symplasmic phloem unloading pathway parallel with a possible apoplasmic path as suggested by the presence of the extracellular invertase in the seed pericarp. A model of complex phloem unloading pathways in developing walnut fruit has been proposed.

Including walnuts in a low-fat/modified-fat diet improves HDL cholesterol-to-total cholesterol ratios in patients with type 2 diabetes.:Diabetes Care. 2004 Dec;27(12):277783.Tapsell LC, Gillen LJ, Patch CS, Batterham M, Owen A, Bar M, Kennedy M.National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, Northfields Avenue, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. ltapsell@uow.edu.au OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a moderate-fat diet inclusive of walnuts on blood lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a parallel randomized controlled trial comparing three dietary advice groups each with 30% energy as fat: low fat, modified low fat, and modified low fat inclusive of 30 g of walnuts per day. Fifty-eight men and women, mean age 59.3 +/8.1 years, started the trial. Dietary advice was given at baseline with monthly follow-up and fortnightly phone calls for support. Body weight, percent body fat, blood lipids,

HbA1c, total antioxidant capacity, and erythrocyte fatty acid levels were measured at 0, 3, and 6 months. Data were assessed by repeated-measures ANOVA with an intention-totreat model. RESULTS: The walnut group achieved a significantly greater increase in HDL cholesterol-to-total cholesterol ratio (P=0.049) and HDL (P=0.046) than the two other treatment groups. A 10% reduction in LDL cholesterol was also achieved in the walnut group, reflecting a significant effect by group (P=0.032) and time (P=0.036). There were no significant differences between groups for changes in body weight, percent body fat, total antioxidant capacity, or HbA1c levels. The higher dietary polyunsaturated fat-to-saturated fat ratio and intakes of omega-3 fatty acids in the walnut group were confirmed by erythrocyte biomarkers of dietary intake. CONCLUSIONS: Structured "whole of diet" advice that included 30 g of walnuts/day delivering substantial amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acid improved the lipid profile of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Alpha-linolenic acid and cardiovascular diseases.:Med Pregl. 2003;56 Suppl 1:1925. Serbian.Risti?-Medi? D, Risti? G, Tepsi? V.danijelar@imi.bc.ac.yu IMPORTANCE AND METABOLISM OF ALPHA-LINOLENIC ACID: Alpha-linolenic acid is an essential fatty acid which cannot be produced in the body and must be taken by food. Both in animals and humans, alpha-linolenic acid is desaturated and elongated into eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid. It is also incorporated into plasma and tissue lipids and its conversion is affected by levels of linoleic acid. POTENTIAL ROLE IN PATHOGENESIS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: Diet enriched in n-3 fatty acids, especially alpha-linolenic acid, reduces the incidence of cardiac death. Studies have shown that alpha linolenic acid prevents ventricular fibrillation which is the main cause of cardiac death. Studies in rats suggest that alpha-linolenic acid may be more effective in preventing ventricular fibrillations than eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid. Furthermore, alpha-linolenic acid is the main fatty acid decreasing platalet aggregation which is an important step in thrombosis i.e. non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke. DIETARY SOURCES AND NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS: Dietary sources include flaxseed and flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybean and soybean oil, pumpkin seed and pumpkin oil, walnuts and walnut oil. Strong evidence supports beneficial effects of alphalinolenic acid and its dietary sources should be incorporated into balanced diet for prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The recommended daily intake is 2 g with a ratio of 5/1 for linoleic/alpha-linolenic acid.

Lipid transfer protein and vicilin are important walnut allergens in patients not allergic to pollen.:J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Oct;114(4):908-14.Pastorello EA, Farioli L, Pravettoni V, Robino AM, Scibilia J, Fortunato D, Conti A, Borgonovo L, Bengtsson A, Ortolani C.Allergy Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Ospedale Maggiore Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Milan, Italy. elide.pastorello@unimi.it BACKGROUND: Walnut is the most common cause of allergic reactions to tree nuts, as reported by large population studies. Two major allergens of walnut have been identified up until now: a 2S albumin and a vicilin-like protein. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to identify the walnut major allergens in the Italian population and to compare the walnut IgE-binding profile in patients with or without pollen allergy. METHODS: We selected 46 patients either with oral allergy syndrome confirmed by open oral challenge or with systemic symptoms after ingestion of walnut. These patients' sera were used for the immunoblotting of walnut extract; the identified allergens were purified by HPLC and sequenced. A peach-walnut cross-inhibition study was then performed. RESULTS: The only major allergen recognized by our study population was a 9-kd lipid transfer protein (LTP), recognized by 37 patients. Two other minor allergens of approximately 9-kd molecular weight, both belonging to the vicilin family, were recognized by 10 patients. IgE binding to walnut LTP was completely inhibited by peach LTP. CONCLUSION: In Italian patients with walnut allergy confirmed by documented history of severe systemic reactions or by open oral food challenge, the major allergen is an LTP. The sensitization

to this protein seems to be secondary to the sensitization to peach LTP, which acts as the primary sensitizer. LTP and vicilins were able to sensitize patients not allergic to pollen.

Alpha-linolenic acid and coronary heart disease.:Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2004 Jun;14(3):162-9. Review.de Lorgeril M, Salen P.Laboratoire Nutrition, Vieillissement et Maladies Cardiovasculaires (NVMCV), UFR de Mdecine et Pharmacie, Universit Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France. michel.delorgeril@ujf-grenoble.fr AIM: To summarize our present knowledge about vegetable omega-3 fatty acids. DATA SYNTHESIS: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is one of the two essential fatty acids in humans. Epidemiological studies and dietary trials strongly suggest that this fatty acid is important in relation with the pathogenesis (and prevention) of coronary heart disease. Like other n3 fatty acids from marine origin, it may prevent cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The optimal dietary intake of alpha-linolenic acid seems to be about 2 g per day or 0.6 to 1% of total energy intake. Obtaining an optimal ratio of the two essential fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids--ie a ratio of less than 4 to 1 in the diet--is a major issue. The main sources of alpha-linolenic acid for the European population should be canola oil (and canola-oil based margarine if available), nuts (English walnut), ground linseeds and green leafy vegetables such as purslane. CONCLUSIONS: Epidemiological studies and dietary trials in humans suggest that alpha-linolenic acid is a major cardio-protective nutrient.

The use of ozone as an oxidizing agent to evaluate antioxidant activities of natural substrates.:Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2004 Jul-Aug;17(4):183-9.He QC, Krone K, Scherl D, Kotler M, Tavakkol A.Advanced Technology Skin Research, Personal Care, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA. claire_he@colpal.com Ozone, the main component of photochemical smog and air pollution, can damage the skin by oxidizing stratum corneum enzymes, lipids and structural proteins. We have developed a rapid screening assay to determine free radical scavenging capacity of various active ingredients that are frequently used in personal care products. Several known antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E analog Trolox, walnut seed extract, lipoic acid and ergothioneine inner salt were assayed for their ability to neutralize ozoneinduced oxidation of beta-phycoerythrin, a fluorescent reporter protein derived from algae. The free radical scavenging capacities of these antioxidants were quantified and compared. The results demonstrate that this assay is a valuable primary screening tool for identifying antioxidant activity of natural or synthetic substrates that can be used in personal care products to protect the uppermost layer of our skin from oxidizing damage induced by O3.

Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut.:Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2004 May;55(3):171-8. Maguire LS, O'Sullivan SM, Galvin K, O'Connor TP, O'Brien NM.Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Ireland. Nuts are high in fat but have a fatty acid profile that may be beneficial in relation to risk of coronary heart disease. Nuts also contain other potentially cardioprotective constituents including phytosterols, tocopherols and squalene. In the present study, the total oil content, peroxide value, composition of fatty acids, tocopherols, phytosterols and squalene content were determined in the oil extracted from freshly ground walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut. The total oil content of the nuts ranged from 37.9 to 59.2%, while the peroxide values ranged from 0.19 to 0.43 meq O2/kg oil. The main monounsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid (C18:1) with substantial levels of palmitoleic acid (C16:1) present in the macadamia nut. The main polyunsaturated fatty

acids present were linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3). alpha-Tocopherol was the most prevalent tocopherol except in walnuts. The levels of squalene detected ranged from 9.4 to 186.4 microg/g. beta-Sitosterol was the most abundant sterol, ranging in concentration from 991.2 to 2071.7 microg/g oil. Campesterol and stigmasterol were also present in significant concentrations. Our data indicate that all five nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fatty acid, tocopherols, squalene and phytosterols.

Phytochemical inhibition of aflatoxigenicity in Aspergillus flavus by constituents of walnut (Juglans regia).:J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Apr 7;52(7):1882-9. Mahoney N, Molyneux RJ.Plant Mycotoxin Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, California 94710, USA. Tulare walnut, a cultivar highly resistant to aflatoxin formation, was investigated for endogenous phytochemical constituents capable of inhibiting aflatoxigenesis in Aspergillus flavus. The activity, located entirely in the pellicle (seed coat), was extractable to various degrees with polar solvents, although some activity remained unextractable, indicating that the bioactivity resided in a complex of hydrolyzable tannins. These tannins can be hydrolyzed by a fungal tannase present in A. flavus, yielding gallic acid and ellagic acid, testing of which showed that only gallic acid had potent inhibitory activity toward aflatoxin biosynthesis. Comparison of the gallic and ellagic acid content in the pellicle of Tulare and Chico cultivars, over the 2002 and 2003 growing seasons, showed that the gallic acid content increased rapidly with maturation of the nut and was 1.5-2 times higher in Tulare than in Chico. Gallic acid content in the pellicle at maturity of a series of commercial English walnut cultivars, and two black walnut species, was determined as an indicator of potential for inhibition of aflatoxigenesis. Regulation of gallic acid levels in the hydrolyzable tannins of walnuts by conventional breeding or genetic manipulation has the potential to provide new cultivars with high resistance to aflatoxigenesis.

Determination of sterol and fatty acid compositions, oxidative stability, and nutritional value of six walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars grown in Portugal.:J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Dec 17;51(26):7698-702.Amaral JS, Casal S, Pereira JA, Seabra RM, Oliveira BP.REQUIMTE, Servi?os de Farmacognosia and Bromatologia, Faculdade de Farmcia, Universidade do Porto, R Anbal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal. Six cultivars (Franquette, Marbot, Mayette, Mellanaise, Lara, and Parisienne) of walnuts (Juglans regia L.) were collected during the 2001 crop, from Bragan?a, Portugal. Chemical composition, including moisture, total oil content, crude protein, ash, carbohydrates, and nutritional value, was evaluated. Fat was the predominant component, ranging from 62.3 to 66.5%. Total oil was extracted and analyzed for fatty acids, sterols, oxidative stability, and peroxide value. Fatty acids and sterols were determined by gas-liquid chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector. Eighteen fatty acids were quantified. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and, in particular, linoleic acid were predominant. Beta-Sitosterol, delta(5)-avenasterol, and campesterol were the major sterols found. Differences were observed among the studied cultivars, especially in peroxide values and in the sterol profile.

Aqueous extract of walnut (Juglans regia L.) protects mice against cyclophosphamide-induced biochemical toxicity.:Hum Exp Toxicol. 2003 Sep;22(9):47380.Haque R, Bin-Hafeez B, Parvez S, Pandey S, Sayeed I, Ali M, Raisuddin S.Immunotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Hamdard University, New Delhi 110 062, India. Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is extensively used in traditional systems of medicine for treatment of various ailments. It is described as an anticancer, tonic, blood purifier and

detoxifier agent. The present study was undertaken to investigate modulatory effects of walnut extract on the toxicity of an anticancer drug, cyclophosphamide (CP) with special reference to protection against disruption of drug metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes. Plant extract+CP group animals showed restoration in the level of cytochrome P450 (CYP) content and in the activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GP) and catalase (CAT) in both liver and kidneys. But plant extract restored the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) in the kidneys only when compared with CP-treated animals. Plant extract treatment alone caused significant reduction in the content of CYP in the kidneys mainly. The extract showed a significant increase in the level of GSH and in the activities of GP in both the tissues and CAT in liver only, whereas no significant change was observed in the activities of GST and SOD. CP treatment resulted in a significant (P < 0.01) increase in the lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the liver and kidneys compared with controls, while the extract+CP treated group showed a significant decrease in the LPO in liver and kidneys when compared with the CP-treated group. The study shows that the use of J. regia extract might be helpful in abrogation of CP toxicity during the chemotherapy.

Antihypertriglyceridemic effect of walnut oil.:Angiology. 2003 JulAug;54(4):411-4.Zibaeenezhad MJ, Rezaiezadeh M, Mowla A, Ayatollahi SM, Panjehshahin MR.Cardiovascular Research Center, School of Public Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Zibaeem2@sums.ac.ir Hyperlipidemia is an important modifiable risk factor of coronary heart diseases. So far, several studies, have indicated the beneficial effects of nuts on plasma lipid profile. Previously, in a pilot study the authors have shown that administration of 20 g/day of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) for 8 weeks could decrease plasma triglyceride (TG) concentration by 17% (p value < 0.05). Walnut also increased the plasma HDL-cholesterol level markedly (p value < 0.05). To make the measurements more reliable and to avoid the unwanted walnut side effects (eg, rash, pruritus), this randomized, double blind casecontrol study was conducted to evaluate the lipid-lowering effect of Persian walnut oil in the population of southern Iran. Sixty hyperlipidemic subjects were randomized into 2 groups; group A patients (n = 29) received walnut oil encapsulated in 500 mg capsules, 3 g/day, for 45 days. Group B patients (n = 31) received placebo and served as the control group. Lipid profiles of both groups were checked before; on days 15, 30, and 45 after the beginning; and 15 days after termination of the study. Plasma TG concentrations decreased by 19% to 33% of baseline in group A patients (p value < 0.05). No statistically significant change was observed in other measured parameters. It was concluded that walnut oil is a good antihypertriglyceridemic natural remedy and should be further explored in more detail.

Antioxidative polyphenols from walnuts (Juglans regia L.).:Phytochemistry. 2003 Aug;63(7):795-801. Three hydrolyzable tannins, glansrins A-C, together with adenosine, adenine, and 13 known tannins were isolated from the n-BuOH extract of walnuts (the seeds of Juglans regia L.). Glansrins A-C were characterized as ellagitannins with a tergalloyl group, or related polyphenolic acyl group, based on spectral and chemical evidence. The 14 walnut polyphenols had superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity with EC(50) 21.4-190 microM and a remarkable radical scavenging effect against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (EC(50) 0.34-4.72 microM).

Studies on correlation of antimutagenic and antiproliferative activities of Juglans regia L.:J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 2003;22(1):59-67.Kaur K, Michael H, Arora S, H?rk?nen PL, Kumar S.Department of Botanical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University,

Amritsar, India. kamal_rajput@hotmail.com We investigated the effect of water and acetone extract of Juglans regia L. to evaluate its antimutagenic and antiproliferative activities. The antimutagenic study using TA98 and TA100 tester strains of Salmonella revealed the water and acetone extracts to be more effective than the benzene and chloroform extracts in inhibiting the revertants induced by 2-aminoflourene (2AF) in TA100 tester strains. The most effective extracts in the Ames assay were further evaluated using the Lucifer luciferase assay and in time course studies for antiproliferative activities using the Hoechst staining to observe apoptotic cell deaths. The acetone extract showed a correlation of antimutagenic activities in the Ames assay with its antiproliferative effect in different cell lines, while the water extract exerted its effect distinctly in each cell line. Further studies are still needed to evaluate the cytotoxicity in experiments carried out in vivo.

Biochemical and physical properties of some walnut genotypes (Juglans regia L.).:Nahrung. 2003 Feb;47(1):28-32.Caglarirmak N.University, Agricultural Faculty, Food Engineering Department, Tasliliftlik campus, TR-60240 Tokat, Turkey. caglarirmaknecla@hotmail.com Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is a plant that has significant economical value and medicinal importance for human health. It is consumed in large quantities by people, therefore, it has a very important place in the public nutritive habits. Turkey has a very good walnut population of walnut varieties when compared to other parts of the world. Our objective was to investigate kernel properties and fatty acid composition, proximate composition and minerals of genotypes that are commonly grown in Turkey. Investigated genotypes were Sebin-Type-I, K?rceg?z, Karabodur, Tozam and Gvenli. Physical properties are attributed to quality criteria of nuts. Sebin Type-I and Gvenli showed a good quality according to the test results. Average fatty acid compositions of genotypes (%) were 16:0; 6.88, 18:0; 7.50, 18:1; 21.16, 18.2; 43.41, 18:3; 6.25: 20:0; 11.75 for Sebin-Type-I, K?rceg?z, Karabodur, Tozani and Gvenli, respectively. Proximate compounds (%) were: protein, 13.77; ash, 1.81; moisture, 2.98; fat, 62.84; total carbohydrate, 18.67. Average mineral contents (mg/100 g) were: P, 316.0; K, 270.0; Ca, 85.0; Mg, 90.0; Zn, 2.01; Mn, 2.46; Cu, 1.01; Fe, 2.90; B, 1.03.

Four new diarylheptanoids from the roots of Juglans mandshurica.:Chem Pharm Bull. 2003 Mar;51(3):262-4.Li G, Xu ML, Choi HG, Lee SH, Jahng YD, Lee CS, Moon DC, Woo MH, Son JK.College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyongsan, Korea. Four new diarylheptanoids (1-4), along with two known tetralones (5, 6), were isolated from the roots of Juglans mandshurica and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies.

Effects of walnut consumption as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet on serum cardiovascular risk factors.:Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2002 Oct;72(5):341-7.Morgan JM, Horton K, Reese D, Carey C, Walker K, Capuzzi DM.Department of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa 19107, USA. John.Morgan@mail.tju.edu Serum components, such as lipoproteins, coagulation factors (factor VII, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), fibrinogen), and homocysteine have been associated with cardiovascular disease. Dietary intervention with a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet has favorably influenced cardiovascular disease and certain food, specifically the consumption of nuts, has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risks. The effects of walnuts, as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, on serum cardiovascular risk factors were determined. Sixty-seven (67) outpatients with

borderline high total cholesterol following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for six weeks before being randomly assigned to continue the diet or have 64 grams/day of walnuts in conjunction with the diet. After six weeks, the patients' diets were switched. Therefore, all patients consumed 64 grams/day of walnuts for six weeks during part of the trial as part of a low-fat, low cholesterol diet. Serum lipids demonstrated a significant reduction in triacyglycerols and favorable trend with decreases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and a slight increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. No statistical effects on homocysteine or the coagulation factors were observed. However, there was a slight favorable trend for tPA and PAI-1. This study demonstrated that walnuts, when consumed as part of a low fat, low-cholesterol diet, have a beneficial effect on serum cardiovascular risk factors. However, these changes may not explain all of the beneficial effects that walnut consumption has on cardiovascular disease.

Comparative analysis of different plant oils by high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry.:J Chromatogr A. 2002 Nov 8;976(1-2):255-63.Jakab A, Hberger K, Forgcs E.Institute of Chest, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 17, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary. janna@chemres.hu Different vegetable oil samples (almond, avocado, corngerm, grapeseed, linseed, olive, peanut, pumpkin seed, soybean, sunflower, walnut, wheatgerm) were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry. A gradient elution technique was applied using acetone-acetonitrile eluent systems on an ODS column (Purospher, RP-18e, 125 x 4 mm, 5 microm). Identification of triacylglycerols (TAGs) was based on the pseudomolecular ion [M+1]+ and the diacylglycerol fragments. The positional isomers of triacylglycerol were identified from the relative intensities of the [M-RCO2]+ fragments. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as a common multivariate mathematical-statistical calculation was successfully used to distinguish the oils based on their TAG composition. LDA showed that 97.6% of the samples were classified correctly.

Cytotoxic diarylheptanoids from the roots of Juglans mandshurica.:J Nat Prod. 2002 Nov;65(11):1707-8.Lee KS, Li G, Kim SH, Lee CS, Woo MH, Lee SH, Jhang YD, Son JK.College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyongsan, 712-749, Korea. A new (2) and three known diarylheptanoids (1, 3, and 4), along with one known sesquiterpenoid (5), were isolated from the roots of Juglans mandshurica, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Four of these compounds (2-5) exhibited moderate cytotoxicities against human colon carcinoma and human lung carcinoma cell lines with IC(50)'s ranging from 2 to 25 microg/mL.

Some evidence for the use of doctrine of signatures in the land of Israel and its environs during the Middle Ages.:Harefuah. 2002 Jul;141(7):651-5, 664. Hebrew.Lev E.Dept. of Eretz Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Israel. The Doctrine of Signatures, was developed in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, though, its traces are spread until the present day in different traditional medicine cultures. This study traces the use of the Doctrine of Signatures in the medical and pharmacological literature of the Land of Israel and it's environs during the Middle Ages. The historical sources support the claim that although this theory did not originate in the region, it was certainly practiced there. These sources have revealed 23 substances with medicinal uses based on the Doctrine, bearing witness to the extent of its influence at the time: PLANTS: Common Agrimony, Common Balm, Common Snapdragon, Coral Peony, Corn Gromwell, Lebanon Barberry, Mullein, Orchid, Panther Strangler, Red Horned Poppy,

Rhubarb, Rose of Jericho, Southern Maidenhair Fern, Spiny Broom, Sumach, Walnut, Wild Dog Rose. ANIMALS: Firefly, Red Coral, White Cuttle Fish. MINERALS: Red Chalk (Haematite), Sea Urchin, White Clay. The main categories of the Doctrine uncovered were: similarity between the substance used and the human organ; resemblance in shape or behaviour to a specific animal; correlation between the colour of a substance and the colour of the symptoms; similarities between the substance and the patient's symptoms and the use of a substance that might produce symptoms of a particular disease in a healthy person to remedy those same symptoms in one who is sick.

The scientific evidence for a beneficial health relationship between walnuts and coronary heart disease.:J Nutr. 2002 May;132(5):1062S-1101S. Review.Feldman EB.Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA. The author and four independent experts evaluated the intent and quality of scientific evidence for a potential beneficial health relationship between the intake of walnuts and the reduction and prevention of coronary heart disease. The report also addresses the supporting evidence for the health benefit of other tree nuts and selected legumes. Compared to most other nuts, which contain monounsaturated fatty acids, walnuts are unique because they are rich in n-6 (linoleate) and n-3 (linolenate) polyunsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts contain multiple health-beneficial components, such as having a low lysine:arginine ratio and high levels of arginine, folate, fiber, tannins, and polyphenols. Though walnuts are energy rich, clinical dietary intervention studies show that walnut consumption does not cause a net gain in body weight when eaten as a replacement food. Five controlled, peer-reviewed, human clinical walnut intervention trials, involving approximately 200 subjects representative of the 51% of the adult population in the United States at risk of coronary heart disease were reviewed. The intervention trials consistently demonstrated walnuts as part of a heart-healthy diet, lower blood cholesterol concentrations. None of these studies were of extended duration that would be essential for evaluation of the sustainability of the observed outcomes. These results were supported by several large prospective observational studies in humans, all demonstrating a dose response-related inverse association of the relative risk of coronary heart disease with the frequent daily consumption of small amounts of nuts, including walnuts.

Lipid analysis of Greek walnut oil (Juglans regia L.).:Z Naturforsch [C]. 2002 Jan-Feb;57(1-2):51-6.Tsamouris G, Hatziantoniou S, Demetzos C.School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Greece. The walnut oil (Juglans regia L.) total lipids (TL) were extracted by the Bligh-Dyer method and the lipid classes have been isolated by chromatographic techniques and they were analyzed by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC)/FID and GC-MS. The oil was found to be rich in neutral lipids (96.9% of total lipids) and low in polar lipids (3.1% of total lipids). The neutral lipid fraction consisted mainly of triacylglycerides whereas the polar lipids mainly consisted of sphingolipids. GC-MS data showed that the main fatty acid was linoleic acid. Unsaturated fatty acids were found as high as 85%, while the percentage of the saturated fatty acids was found 15%. Two types of liposomes were prepared from the isolated walnut oil phospholipids and characterized as new formulations. These formulations may have future applications for encapsulation and delivery of drugs and cosmetic active ingredients.

A systematic screening of total antioxidants in dietary plants.:J Nutr. 2002 Mar;132(3):461-71.Halvorsen BL, Holte K, Myhrstad MC, Barikmo I, Hvattum E, Remberg SF, Wold AB, Haffner K, Bauger?d H, Andersen LF, Moskaug ?, Jacobs DR Jr, Blomhoff R.Institute for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0316

Oslo, Norway. A predominantly plant-based diet reduces the risk for development of several chronic diseases. It is often assumed that antioxidants contribute to this protection, but results from intervention trials with single antioxidants administered as supplements quite consistently do not support any benefit. Because dietary plants contain several hundred different antioxidants, it would be useful to know the total concentration of electrondonating antioxidants (i.e., reductants) in individual items. Such data might be useful in the identification of the most beneficial dietary plants. We have assessed systematically total antioxidants in a variety of dietary plants used worldwide, including various fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals, nuts and pulses. When possible, we analyzed three or more samples of dietary plants from three different geographic regions in the world. Total antioxidants was assessed by the reduction of Fe(3+) to Fe(2+) (i.e., the FRAP assay), which occurred rapidly with all reductants with half-reaction reduction potentials above that of Fe(3+)/Fe(2+). The values, therefore, expressed the corresponding concentration of electron-donating antioxidants. Our results demonstrated that there is more than a 1000fold difference among total antioxidants in various dietary plants. Plants that contain most antioxidants included members of several families, such as Rosaceae (dog rose, sour cherry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry), Empetraceae (crowberry), Ericaceae (blueberry), Grossulariaceae (black currant), Juglandaceae (walnut), Asteraceae (sunflower seed), Punicaceae (pomegranate) and Zingiberaceae (ginger). In a Norwegian diet, fruits, berries and cereals contributed 43.6%, 27.1% and 11.7%, respectively, of the total intake of plant antioxidants. Vegetables contributed only 8.9%. The systematic analysis presented here will facilitate research into the nutritional role of the combined effect of antioxidants in dietary plants.

Differential effect of walnut oil and safflower oil on the serum cholesterol level and lesion area in the aortic root of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.:Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2002 Jan;66(1):141-6. Walnut oil (WO) is a good source of alpha-linolenic acid. We compared the effects of WO and high-linoleic safflower oil (HLSO) on the serum lipid level and atherosclerosis development in male and female apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice. The WO diet resulted in a higher level of serum cholesterol than with HLSO. Female mice fed on the WO diet had a greater lesion area in the aortic root than did those on the HLSO diet. There was no diet-dependent difference in the level of cholesterol and its oxidation products in the abdominal and thoracic aorta. These results suggest that the unpleasant effects of the WO diet on apo E-deficient mice may be attributable to alpha-linolenic acid.

Body building aided by intramuscular injections of walnut oil.:Ugeskr Laeger. 2001 Nov 26;163(48):6758. Danish.Munch IC, Hvolris JJ.Sygehus Vestsjaelland, ortopaedkirurgisk afdeling. This case report describes a 26-year-old body builder who had practiced several months of intramuscular self-injection of walnut oil. Apparently this is a normal procedure amongst body-builders. Our patient complained of swelling and tenderness overlying an injection site. Injections of oil may cause foreign body reactions, leading to tumours named according to the injected material; e.g. paraffinoma, oleoma. Systemic distribution has been reported to result in pulmonary complications.

Walnut-enriched diet increases the association of LDL from hypercholesterolemic men with human HepG2 cells.:J Lipid Res. 2001 Dec;42(12):2069-76.Mu?oz S, Merlos M, Zambn D, Rodrguez C, Sabat J, Ros E, Laguna JC.Pharmacology Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

In a randomized, cross-over feeding trial involving 10 men with polygenic hypercholesterolemia, a control, Mediterranean-type cholesterol-lowering diet, and a diet of similar composition in which walnuts replaced approximately 35% of energy from unsaturated fat, were given for 6 weeks each. Compared with the control diet, the walnut diet reduced serum total and LDL cholesterol by 4.2% (P = 0.176), and 6.0% (P = 0.087), respectively. No changes were observed in HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein A-I levels or in the relative proportion of protein, triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesteryl esters in LDL particles. The apolipoprotein B level declined in parallel with LDL cholesterol (6.0% reduction). Whole LDL, particularly the triglyceride fraction, was enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids from walnuts (linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids). In comparison with LDL obtained during the control diet, LDL obtained during the walnut diet showed a 50% increase in association rates to the LDL receptor in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. LDL uptake by HepG2 cells was correlated with alpha-linolenic acid content of the triglyceride plus cholesteryl ester fractions of LDL particles (r(2) = 0.42, P < 0.05). Changes in the quantity and quality of LDL lipid fatty acids after a walnut-enriched diet facilitate receptor-mediated LDL clearance and may contribute to the cholesterol-lowering effect of walnut consumption.

Walnut polyphenolics inhibit in vitro human plasma and LDL oxidation.:J Nutr. 2001 Nov;131(11):2837-42.Anderson KJ, Teuber SS, Gobeille A, Cremin P, Waterhouse AL, Steinberg FM.Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. Recent epidemiologic studies have associated nut consumption with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular mortality. However, little is known about the contribution of nut polyphenols to antioxidant and cardiovascular protection. In this investigation, polyphenol-rich extracts from English walnuts (Juglans regia) were studied and compared with ellagic acid for their ability to inhibit in vitro plasma and LDL oxidation, as well as their effects on LDL alpha-tocopherol during oxidative stress. In addition, the Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity (TEAC) was determined and liquid chromatography electrospray detection mass spectrometry (LC-ELSD/MS) analyses of the walnut extracts were performed. 2,2'-Azobis'(2-amidino propane) hydrochloride (AAPH)-induced LDL oxidation was significantly inhibited by 87 and 38% with the highest concentration (1.0 micromol/L) of ellagic acid and walnut extract, respectively. In addition, copper-mediated LDL oxidation was inhibited by 14 and 84% in the presence of ellagic acid and walnut extract, respectively, with a modest, significant LDL alpha-tocopherol sparing effect observed. Plasma thiobarbituric acid reacting substance (TBARS) formation was significantly inhibited by walnut extracts and ellagic acid in a dose-dependent manner, and the extracts exhibited a TEAC value greater than that of alpha-tocopherol. LCELSD/MS analysis of the walnut extracts identified ellagic acid monomers, polymeric ellagitannins and other phenolics, principally nonflavonoid compounds. These results demonstrate that walnut polyphenolics are effective inhibitors of in vitro plasma and LDL oxidation. The polyphenolic content of walnuts should be considered when evaluating their antiatherogenic potential.

Effects of walnut consumption on plasma fatty acids and lipoproteins in combined hyperlipidemia.:Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Jul;74(1):72-9.Almario RU, Vonghavaravat V, Wong R, Kasim-Karakas SE.Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA. BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies show an inverse relation between nut consumption and coronary heart disease. OBJECTIVE: We determined the effects of walnut intake on plasma fatty acids, lipoproteins, and lipoprotein subclasses in patients with combined hyperlipidemia. DESIGN: Participants sequentially adhered to the following diets: 1) a habitual diet (HD), 2) a habitual diet plus walnuts (HD+W), 3) a low-fat diet (LFD),

and 4) a low-fat diet plus walnuts (LFD+W). RESULTS: In 13 postmenopausal women and 5 men ( +/- SD age 60 +/- 8 y), walnut supplementation did not increase body weight despite increased energy intake and the LFD caused weight loss (1.3 +/- 0.5 kg; P < 0.01). When comparing the HD with the HD+W, linoleic acid concentrations increased from 29.94 +/- 1.14% to 36.85 +/- 1.13% and alpha-linolenic acid concentrations increased from 0.78 +/- 0.04% to 1.56 +/- 0.11%. During the LFD+W, plasma total cholesterol concentrations decreased by 0.58 +/- 0.16 mmol/L when compared with the HD and by 0.46 +/- 0.14 mmol/L when compared with the LFD. LDL-cholesterol concentrations decreased by 0.46 +/- 0.15 mmol/L when compared with the LFD. Measurements of lipoprotein subclasses and particle size suggested that walnut supplementation lowered cholesterol preferentially in small LDL (46.1 +/- 1.9% compared with 33.4 +/- 4.3%, HD compared with HD+W, respectively; P < 0.01). HDL-cholesterol concentrations decreased from 1.27 +/0.07 mmol/L during the HD to 1.14 +/- 0.07 mmol/L during the HD+W and to 1.11 +/- 0.08 mmol/L during the LFD. The decrease was seen primarily in the large HDL particles. CONCLUSIONS: Walnut supplementation may beneficially alter lipid distribution among various lipoprotein subclasses even when total plasma lipids do not change. This may be an additional mechanism underlying the antiatherogenic properties of nut intake.

Regulation of aflatoxin production by naphthoquinones of walnut (Juglans regia).:J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Sep;48(9):4418-21.Mahoney N, Molyneux RJ, Campbell BC.Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, California 94710, USA. Walnuts are a valuable crop the sale and export potential of which may be severely limited by contamination with aflatoxins, metabolites produced on infection with Aspergillus flavus. The effect of a series of four naphthoquinones [1,4-naphthoquinone (1); juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) (2); 2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone (3); and, plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone) (4)] (Figure 1), which occur in walnut husks, on fungal viability and aflatoxigenesis was studied in vitro. The quinones delayed germination of the fungus and were capable of completely inhibiting growth at higher concentrations. Their effect on aflatoxin levels was highly dependent on the concentration of individual naphthoquinones in the media. At higher concentrations, aflatoxin production was decreased or completely inhibited, but at lower concentrations there was a stimulatory effect on aflatoxin biosynthesis, with a >3-fold increase at 20 ppm of 3. Structural features associated with decreased fungal viability and greatest effect on aflatoxigenesis are the presence of a 5-hydroxyl or 2-methyl substituent, but there is no significant additive effect when both of these substituents are present.

Volatile components of green walnut husks.:J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Jul;48(7):2858-61.Buttery RG, Light DM, Nam Y, Merrill GB, Roitman JN.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, California 94710, USA. Volatiles were isolated from whole green mature walnuts (Hartley variety) with husks still intact using dynamic headspace sweeping with trapping on Tenax. A total of 45 volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS. Major volatiles identified included (E)-4, 8dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, pinocarvone, pinocarveol, myrtenal, myrtenol, (E,E)-4,8,12trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene, caryophyllene epoxide, verbenol, verbenone, and terpinolene. Green walnuts that had been infested with codling moth showed appreciably higher amounts emitted for (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E, E)-4,8,12-trimethyl1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene, alpha- and beta-pinenes, sabinene, (E)-beta-ocimene, (E,E)-alphafarnesene, and linalool. The infested nuts also emitted benzyl methyl ether, isobutyl cyanide, and 1-nitro-3-methylbutane, compounds not found with the healthy nuts. Volatiles from uninfested green walnuts at the maturity stage where the husk was just beginning to split were also analyzed and compared.

Black walnut induced laminitis.:Vet Hum Toxicol. 2000 Feb;42(1):8-11.Thomsen ME, Davis EG, Rush BR.Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506-5606, USA. A 5-y-old Paint horse gelding was evaluated for acute laminitis after exposure to black walnut shavings. The gelding's feet were previously soaked in an ice bath continuously for approximately 24 h. Treatment consisted of anti-inflammatory and vasodilator therapy. Serial radiographs revealed progressive palmar deviation of the third phalanx and subsolar abscesses in both forefeet. The gelding developed purulent discharge from the right coronary band and the hoof wall detached circumfrentially. Euthanasia was elected after 54 days. Continual exposure of the gelding's feet to ice water temperatures may have caused decreased perfusion and increased edema formation in the laminae resulting in decreased blood flow and exacerbating the existing ischemic necrosis.

Fatty acid content of New Zealand-grown walnuts (Juglans regia L.).:Int J Food Sci Nutr. 1999 May;50(3):189-94. Zwarts L, Savage GP, McNeil DL.Animal and Food Science Division, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand. Walnut (Juglans regia L.) samples were collected during the 1994 and 1995 harvest from ten different cultivars of trees grown in a replicated trial in an experimental orchard at Lincoln University, New Zealand. Two US commercial cultivars (Tehama and Vina), three European commercial cultivars (Esterhazy, 139, G120) and five New Zealand selections (Rex, Dublin's Glory, Meyric, McKinster, Stanley) were evaluated. Total oil was extracted using a cold press and individual fatty acids were analysed by GLC. The total oil content of the nuts ranged from 62.4 to 68.7%. The oleic acid content of the oils ranged from 14.3 to 26.1% of the total fatty acids, while the linoleic acid content ranged from 49.3 to 62.3% and the linolenic contents from 8.0 to 13.8%.

Blood cholesterol and walnut consumption: a cross-sectional survey in France.:Prev Med. 1999 Apr;28(4):333-9.Lavedrine F, Zmirou D, Ravel A, Balducci F, Alary J.GREPO, Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique, Facult de Pharmacie, La Tronche Cedex, France. BACKGROUND: The preventive role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease has been recognized. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the association between walnut consumption (oil and kernel) as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and blood lipid levels. METHODS: Seven hundred ninety-three persons, males and females, ages 18-65 years, living in a walnut production area (Dauphin, France) attended health screening visits organized by the Agriculture Social Security. Past diet (1year recall, including walnut and animal fat consumption) and cardiovascular risk factors were ascertained using food frequency questionnaires. For each participant a blood sample was taken to measure HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol; apo A1; and apo B. RESULTS: A high level of HDL cholesterol and apo A1 was associated with a high amount of walnut consumption (oil and kernel) in the regular diet, with a positive trend with increasing degree of walnut consumption. This association did not appear to be confounded by dietary animal fat and alcohol as measured in this study. Other blood lipids did not show significant associations with walnut consumption. CONCLUSION: The positive effect of walnut consumption on blood HDL cholesterol and apo A1 is of special interest since these lipid parameters have been shown to be negatively correlated with cardiovascular morbidity. Copyright 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.

A diet rich in walnuts favourably influences plasma fatty acid profile in moderately

hyperlipidaemic subjects.:Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998 Jan;52(1):12-6.Chisholm A, Mann J, Skeaff M, Frampton C, Sutherland W, Duncan A, Tiszavari S.Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. OBJECTIVE: To compare two low fat diets one rich in walnuts on parameters of lipid metabolism in a group of hyperlipidaemic subjects. DESIGN: A randomised cross over study. SETTING: Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand SUBJECTS: Twenty one men with mean (s.d.) levels of total and LDL cholesterol of 6.58 (0.60) and 4.63 (0.58) respectively. INTERVENTIONS: For two periods of four weeks subjects were asked to consume two low fat diets (fat 30% total energy), one containing, on average, 78 g/d walnuts. Walnuts obtained through Lincoln University and the Walnut Growers Group (South Canterbury). RESULTS: Participants reported a higher total fat intake on the walnut diet (38% compared with 30% on the low fat diet P < 0.01) The most consistent change in fatty acid profile of triacylglycerol, phospholipid and cholesterol ester on the walnut diet was a significant (P < 0.01) increase in linoleic acid. Triacylglycerol linolenate also increased significantly (P < 0.01). Total and LDL cholesterol were lower on both experimental diets than at baseline, 0.25 mmol/l and 0.36 mmol/l respectively on the walnut diet and 0.13 mmol/l and 0.20 mmol/l respectively on the low fat diet. High density lipoprotein cholesterol was higher on both the walnut and low fat diets when compared to baseline (0.15 mmol/l and 0.12 mmol/l, respectively). When comparing the walnut and low fat diets only apo B was significantly lower (P < 0.05) on the walnut diet. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an unintended increase in the total fat intake on the walnut diet, fatty acid profile of the major lipid fractions showed changes which might be expected to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. The reduction of apolipoprotein B suggests a reduction in lipoprotein mediated risk, the relatively low myristic acid content of both diets perhaps explaining the absence of more extensive differences in lipoprotein levels on the two diets.

Acidic catecholamine metabolites and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in urine: the influence of diet.:Ann Clin Biochem. 1996 Jan;33 ( Pt 1):43-9. Concentrations of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), vanillic acid (VA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in urine from healthy subjects were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography system with a mixed-mode (C18/anion-exchange) column and an 8channel electrochemical detector, in order to study the influence of diet, diurnal variation and age. The urinary excretion of 5-HIAA increased significantly after eating banana, pineapple, tomato, kiwi fruit and walnut. An increase in the urinary excretion of DOPAC and HVA after eating banana and that of VA after taking vanilla was also noted. The urinary excretion of VMA was not significantly influenced by any of the foods examined. The urinary excretion of 5-HIAA in the first-morning urine increased beyond the upper limit of the reference value when banana was taken at 2000 h the previous day. The excretion of all metabolites in the second-morning urine in the fasting state was within respective reference ranges. Diurnal variation of the excretion of VMA, DOPAC, HVA and 5-HIAA in urine was relatively small, but that of VA was large. The concentrations (mmol/mol creatinine) of VMA, DOPAC, HVA, 5-HIAA and VA in the first-morning urine from healthy subjects increased from 7 days after birth to 1 year and then decreased to adult levels at 13 years of age.

Nuts: a new protective food against coronary heart disease.:Curr Opin Lipidol. 1994 Feb;5(1):11-6. Review.Sabat J, Fraser GE.Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA. Recent epidemiological findings indicate that frequent nut consumption offers protection from fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease events. Although human nutrition studies seem to indicate that nut consumption lowers total and LDL cholesterol, the unique nutrient composition of nuts invites speculation on other mechanisms of protection.

Effects of walnuts on serum lipid levels and blood pressure in normal men.:N Engl J Med. 1993 Mar 4;328(9):603-7.Sabat J, Fraser GE, Burke K, Knutsen SF, Bennett H, Lindsted KD.Center for Health Research, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, CA 92350. BACKGROUND. In a recent six-year follow-up study, we found that frequent consumption of nuts was associated with a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease. To explore possible explanations for this finding, we studied the effects of nut consumption on serum lipids and blood pressure. METHODS. We randomly placed 18 healthy men on two mixed natural diets, each diet to be followed for four weeks. Both diets conformed to the National Cholesterol Education Program Step 1 diet and contained identical foods and macronutrients, except that 20 percent of the calories of one diet (the walnut diet) were derived from walnuts (offset by lesser amounts of fatty foods, meat, and visible fat [oils, margarine, and butter]). RESULTS. With the reference diet, the mean (+/- SD) serum values for total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were, respectively, 182 +/- 23, 112 +/- 16, and 47 +/- 11 mg per deciliter (4.71 +/- 0.59, 2.90 +/- 0.41, and 1.22 +/- 0.28 mmol per liter). With the walnut diet, the mean total cholesterol level was 22.4 mg per deciliter (0.58 mmol per liter) lower than the mean level with the reference diet (95 percent confidence interval, 28 to 17 mg per deciliter [0.72 to 0.44 mmol per liter]); the LDL and HDL cholesterol levels were, respectively, 18.2 mg per deciliter (0.47 mmol per liter) (P < 0.001) and 2.3 mg per deciliter (0.06 mmol per liter) (P = 0.01) lower. These lower values represented reductions of 12.4, 16.3, and 4.9 percent in the levels of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol, respectively. The ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol was also lowered (P < 0.001) by the walnut diet. Mean blood-pressure values did not change during either dietary period. CONCLUSIONS. Incorporating moderate quantities of walnuts into the recommended cholesterol-lowering diet while maintaining the intake of total dietary fat and calories decreases serum levels of total cholesterol and favorably modifies the lipoprotein profile in normal men. The long-term effects of walnut consumption and the extension of this finding to other population groups deserve further study.

Mycoflora and mycotoxin of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) and walnut (Juglans regia L.) seeds in Egypt.:Zentralbl Mikrobiol. 1993 Mar;148(2):137-47.Abdel-Hafez AI, Saber SM.Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Sohag, Egypt. Fifty-one species and 3 varieties appertaining to 20 genera were collected from 20 samples of each of hazelnut and walnut seeds on glucose- and 40% (W/V) sucroseCzapek's agar at 25 degrees C and 45 degrees C with the most common mesophiles were Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. citrinum and P. oxalicum. Fusarium (represented by F. equiseti, F. moniliforme and F. oxysporum) was recovered from walnut seeds in moderate frequency (on glucose-Czapek's agar). Eurotium (E. amstelodami, E. chevalieri, E. repens and E. rubrum) was completely absent on glucose agar, but it was isolated in high frequency from the two types of seeds on 40% sucrose-Czapek's agar. Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizomucor pusillus were the most common thermophilic fungi in hazelnut and walnut seeds on glucose agar at 45 degrees C. Humicola grisea var. themoidae and Thermoascus aurantiacus were encountered rarely from walnuts. The nuts samples were assayed for natural occurrence of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, citrinin, ochratoxin A, patulin, sterigmatocystin, zearalenone, T-2 toxin and diacetoxyscirpenol by thin layer chromatography analysis. Aflatoxin was detected in 90% of hazelnut samples (25-175 micrograms/kg) and 75% of walnut samples (15-25 micrograms/kg). Zearalenone was detected in one sample of walnut (125 micrograms/kg). This is the first report for the presence of zearalenone in walnut. The other mycotoxins were not detected.

Endocrine environment of benign prostatic hyperplasia--relationships of sex steroid hormone levels with age and the size of the prostate.: To determine the influence of endocrine factors on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP), the levels of three sex steroid hormones i.e., total testosterone (Total-T), free testosterone (Free-T) and estradiol (E2), were measured in serum of healthy 154 men. Their ages ranged from 18 to 91 years old. In 59 men, prostatic size was estimated by digital examination and was subdivided into three groups: smaller than or equal to walnut size, small hen's egg size and equal to or larger than hen's egg size. Firstly, relationships of sex hormone levels with age were studied. There was a slight decrease in Total-T over 60 years old, a significant decrease in Free-T, and no change in E2 with age. Thus, E2/Total-T and E2/Free-T ratio increased significantly after middle-age. Secondly, relationships of hormone levels with prostatic size were studied. In the larger prostate group, a significantly lower level of Total-T and significantly higher level of E2 were detected. But there was no difference in Free-T. Thus, the prostatic size was correlated positively with E2 level, E2/Total-T and E2/Free-T ratio. These suggest that the endocrine environment tended to be estrogens-dominant with age, in particular, after middle-age, and that patients with large prostates have more estrogens-dominant environments. We conclude that estrogens are key hormones for the induction and the development of BPH.

Black walnut (Juglans nigra) toxicosis: a model for equine laminitis.:J Comp Pathol. 1991 Apr;104(3):313-26.Galey FD, Whiteley HE, Goetz TE, Kuenstler AR, Davis CA, Beasley VR.Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana. Twelve light horse geldings developed laminitis within 8 to 12 h of being dosed by nasogastric tube with an aqueous extract of black walnut (Juglans nigra). Four of the 12 horses developed the severe signs of grade 3 laminitis (lame at a walk, refused to lift feet). Laminitis was accompanied by mild depression and limb oedema. There was no evidence of shock or colic. The horses developed neutropenia by 4 h after dosing with the extract, which shifted to a relative neutrophilia by 8 to 12 h. Minimal increases in plasma epinephrine and cortisol concentrations were suggested in severely affected horses. Severe laminitis was characterized by necrosis of dermal tips of dorsal primary epidermal laminae. A proliferative epithelial response in these laminae was distinguished by numerous mitotic figures and clusters of epithelial cells. This evidence suggests that black walnut toxicosis is not only a consistent clinical model, but is also a reliable clinicopathological and pathological model for study of the pathogenesis and treatment of laminitis.

Therapeutic effects of borneol-walnut oil in the treatment of purulent otitis media.:Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1990 Feb;10(2):93-5, 69. Chinese.Liu SL.First People's Hospital of Jining. 170 patients were treated with borneol-walnut oil of various concentrations, and the controls (108 patients) were treated with neomycin compound. As a result, the total effective rates were 98.06% and 84.26% respectively (P less than 0.001). This indicated that the therapeutic effects of borneol-walnut oil for the treatment of purulent otitis media were superior to that of neomycin compound. The most optimal concentration of borneolwalnut oil was 20% through clinical and laboratory observations. Due to its simple composition, significant therapeutic effects and nontoxic reactions, the borneol-walnut oil has been proved a promising external remedy for the treatment of purulent otitis media.

Obesity and cholecystectomy among women: implications for

prevention.:Am J Prev Med. 1988 Nov-Dec;4(6):327-30.Petitti DB, Sidney S.Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California. Almost all studies of the association of body mass with the risk of gallbladder disease have found that risk increases with obesity. Some studies report a nonlinear relationship of body mass to gallbladder disease risk, and some report that the association of excess body mass with increased risk of gallbladder disease is confined to younger women. We examined the association of body mass with the risk of cholecystectomy based on data from 14 years of follow-up of 16,638 women. The cholecystectomy rate was much greater in the highest quintile of Quetelet's body mass index than in other quintiles. The striking association of high rates of cholecystectomy with the highest quintile of Quetelet's body mass index was observed in each age group studied. The low incidence of cholecystectomy in young, thin women made the relative risk of cholecystectomy in women in the fifth quintile of body mass highest in women under 25 years of age. The observation that cholecystectomy rates are not linearly associated with obesity suggests that women in the highest quintiles of body mass could be considered a reasonable group in which strategies for prevention of gallbladder disease might be tested. PIP: The Walnut Creek Contraceptive Drug Study which began in 1968 and ended in 1972, monitored 16,638 women as part of a multiphasic health checkup and collected information on oral contraceptive (OC) use; smoking, alcohol use; other habits, and family and medical histories. The number of women years was determined in each age and weight category. The rates of gallbladder disease were similarly calculated. The Cox proportional hazards model was utilized as implemented in the multivariate life table analyses. In addition, Quetelet's body mass index as a measure of obesity was applied. 16,240 women had an intact gallbladder; of these 432 were hospitalized with diagnosis of gallbladder disease. The diagnosis was confirmed in 423 women: 98% had cholelithiasis accompanied by pathologic evidence of cholecystitis. The gallbladder disease rate increased with age, with body mass index, and it was dramatically higher in women in the highest quintile of Quetelet's body mass index than in other quintiles at all ages. A nonlinear association of cholecystectomy with obesity persisted. At least 500,000 cholecystectomies are carried out in the US annually, and the risk is much higher in women in the uppermost quintile, thus it is reasonable to suggest that preventive efforts should focus on this group.

Serotonin content of foods: effect on urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid.:Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Oct;42(4):639-43.Feldman JM, Lee EM. Using a highly specific radioenzymatic assay we determined the serotonin concentration in 80 types of foods. The following fruits had a high serotonin concentration (mean +/SEM) expressed in micrograms/g weight: plantain 30.3 +/- 7.5; pineapple 17.0 +/- 5.1; banana 15.0 +/- 2.4; Kiwi fruit 5.8 +/- 0.9; plums 4.7 +/- 0.8; and tomatoes 3.2 +/- 0.6. Only nuts in the walnut or hickory family had a high serotonin concentration expressed in micrograms/g weight; butternuts 398 +/- 90; black walnuts 304 +/- 46; English walnuts 87 +/- 20; shagbark hickory nuts 143 +/- 23; mockernut hickory nuts 67 +/- 13; pecans 29 +/- 4; and sweet pignuts 25 +/- 8. Ingestion of these fruits and nuts resulted in an increase in urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid excretion with no change in platelet serotonin concentration. The above foods should not be eaten while a urine is being collected for 5hydroxyindoleacetic acid analysis.

Glyceride structure of fats. 11. Structure studies on selected nut fats using lipases:Nahrung. 1978;22(3):351-4. German.Franzke C, Kroll J, G?bel R. Using pancreatic lipase of Geotrichum candidum, the authors determined the fatty acid pattern and the glyceride structure of peanut, filbert, walnut, Brazil nut and cashew-nut fats. Both the fatty acid pattern and the glyceride structure were comparable to those of other vegetable fats of corresponding total fatty acid composition.

Scientific References:
1.Research Update:Walnut

Claims & Warning:

Claims: Information this web site presented is meant for Nutritional Benefit and as an educational starting point only, for use in maintenance and promotion good health in cooperation with a common knowledge base reference...Furthermore,it based solely on the traditional and historic use or legend of a given herb from the garden of Adonis. Although every effort has been made to ensure its accurate, please note that some info may be outdated by more recent scientific developments...... Pharmakon Warning: The order of knowledge is not the transparent order of forms and ideas,as one might be tempted retrospectively to interpret it; it is the antidote....(Dissemination,Plato's Pharmacy,II.The Ingredients:Phantasms,Festivals,and Paints;138cf. Jacques Derrida.). And as it happens,the technique of imitation,along with the production of the simulacrum,has always been in Plato's eyes manifestly magical,thaumaturgical:......and the same things appear bent and straight to those who view them in water and out,or concave and convex,owing to similar errors of vision about colors, and there is obviously every confusion of this sort in our souls.And so scene painting (skiagraphia) in its exploitation of this weakness of four nature falls nothing short of witchcraft (thaumatopoia), and so do jugglery and many other such contrivances.(Republic X,602c-d;cf.also 607c).

Phenolic Compounds as Cultivar- and Variety-distinguishing Factors in Some Plant Products

Joanna Klepacka, Elbieta Gujska, and Joanna Michalak
Food Science Department, University of Warmia and Mazury, ul. Heweliusza 6, 10-957 Olsztyn, Poland Joanna Klepacka, Email: klepak@uwm.edu.pl. Corresponding author.

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Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine whether phenolic compounds in some varieties of buckwheat, winter and spring barley and peas can be used as factors which distinguish selected cultivars and varieties of plant material. It was observed that the content of total phenolics might be useful as a cultivar-distinguishing factor for all the plant materials analyzed, but it was a distinguishing factor for only some varieties. Individual cultivars and varieties were best distinguished by the content of syringic acid. The levels of syringic and vanillic acids were in reverse proportion to the total amount of phenolics soluble in methanol and a positive correlation between syringic and ferulic acid was observed. Moreover, the protein content of plant material was analyzed and a significant (p 0.05) correlation between this component and ferulic and vanillic acids was noted. Keywords: Phenolics, Phenolic acids, Buckwheat, Pea, Barley

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Introduction
It is well known that phenolic compounds belong to bioactive components of plant products and have high health-promoting activity [15]. Their content depends on many factors such

as: climatic and agrotechnical conditions in cultivation and harvesting, ripeness of the material, harvest time, storage conditions, effect of genetic factors and varieties-dependent variability [5, 6]. Plant phenolics can be very generally divided to phenolic acids and flavonoids, which are present in the free and conjugated forms [4, 6]. Most naturallyoccurring phenolic compounds are present as conjugates with polysaccharides and proteins [1, 4, 7, 8]. Cereals and leguminous plants play a major role in human nutrition and are a good source of saccharides, proteins, selected micronutrients and phenolics [1, 9]. Between them, noteworthy are: barley [10], buckwheat [3] (although it is not a cereal grain, it is usually grouped with other cereals because of a similarity in cultivation and utilization) and peas [7]. Grains of barley and buckwheat are used to produce frequently consumed groats and flakes [3, 10, 11] and pea seeds are consumed by humans principally as green immature seeds [7, 11]. Phenolic acids are the most important and the largest group of antioxidants in terms of incidence in cereal grains [6, 10, 11] and peas [7]. They consist of two subgroups, i.e., hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids [5, 9]. The forms of salicylic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, protocatechuic, p-coumaric, syringic, ferulic and sinapic acids have been identified in barley grains [10, 11]. The bran-aleurone fraction of buckwheat contains bound syringic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic and p-coumaric acids [6]. Dueas et al. [7] reported that the percentage of phenolic acids with respect to the total content of phenolics in the pea cotyledon ranged from 87.99 to 91.57% depending on the type of variety. The amount of phenolic content may be variety-dependent [1015], but mainly data concerning the differences between varieties inside one cultivar [7, 8, 10, 14]. In literature, phenolics in buckwheat, barley and peas have been determined using different analytical methods. For research purposes, it is important to apply the same method to determine whether phenolics can be used as factors to distinguish selected cultivars and varieties of plant material and this was the aim of this study. In addition, the protein content of individual materials and relationships between analyzed components has been determined.

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Materials and Methods Samples

Three buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) varieties, three peas (Pisum sativum L.), three winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and three spring barley were used in this study (Table 1). Samples were harvested in 2005 and collected from the breeding stations in Poland. They were dehulled and ground in a WZ-1 type laboratory mill and analyzed. All extractions and determinations were made in triplicate.

Table 1 Selected quality determinants of the analyzed plant products

Chemicals
Standards of catechin, -amylase from Aspergillus oryzae and phenolic acids (ferulic, coumaric, syringic and vanillic) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (USA). All reagents and solvents used were of analytical or HPLC grade purity.

Protein Content
Protein content (N 6.25) was determined by the Kjeldahl method.

Total Phenolics (Soluble in Methanol)

The total phenolics were determined spectrophotometrically according to Ribereau-Gayon [16] using extraction five times with 80% methanol, at the temperature of 22 C, with shaking, the addition of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and sodium carbonate and then measurement of the absorbance at a wavelength of 720 nm against the reference sample. The results were expressed as catechin equivalent with a reference curve plotted for Dcatechin.

Phenolic Acids
The phenolic acids were determined by the Pussayanawin and Wetzel method [17]. Phenolic acids were released from investigated plant sources with acid and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by separation with the HPLC method. Samples (1 g) of each variety were combined with 35 ml 0.1 M H2SO4 and placed into a boiling water bath for 30 min. Hydrolysis was terminated by cooling in an ice water bath for 10 min before the addition of 5 ml of 2% (w/v) suspension of -amylase from Aspergillus oryzae in a 2.5 M aqueous sodium acetate solution. The samples were incubated at 30 C for 1 h with periodic agitation and then centrifuged at 10,00 g for 15 min. The supernatant was decanted into a 50 ml volumetric flask and diluted to volume with distilled water. Prior to injection into the chromatograph the samples were filtered through a 0.45 m nylon filter. The extracts were protected from UV light and stored in the refrigerator prior to analysis. The following separation conditions were applied: Hewlett Packard liquid chromatograph; column Supelcosil 150 4.6 mm; mobile phase: a solution of 12% methanol in a sodium citrate buffer (pH 5.4); stationary phase: silica gel of 5 m granulation which was chemically modified with bond aliphatic hydrocarbons with 18 molecules of carbon in a chain; flow rate: 1 ml/min; UVVIS detector. Coumaric, syringic and vanillic acids were detected at 280 nm

and ferulic acid at 320 nm. Peak identification was based on the retention time by comparison with standard compounds.

Data Analysis
Each experiment comprised three replications. The data were expressed as means standard deviations and were analyzed using Statistica 8.0 statistical software. Significant differences were calculated according to Duncans Multiple range test. Differences at the 5% level were considered statistically significant. Correlation coefficients between analyzed seed components were determined.

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Results and Discussion Protein Content

The lowest protein content was found in barley cultivars (spring 8.3%, winter 8.5%) and the highest in pea seeds (24.6%) (Table 1). Except buckwheat, there were statistically significant differences in protein content between all the analyzed varieties within the cultivars. Protein content is typical of individual materials and depends on many factors, such as: variety, cultivar, soil- and climate-related factors, fertilization and others [18, 19]. Similar protein levels have also been reported by other authors [2022].

Total Phenolics
The total amount of phenolics ranged from 28.3 mg/100 g in the pea variety Milwa to 288.1 mg/100 g in the buckwheat variety Kora (Table 1). Statistically significant differences (p 0.05) were found between some varieties of the analyzed cultivars. These results are in good accordance with some previously reported data. Zieliski et al. [21] found similar contents of total phenolics in dehulled buckwheat (269 mg/100 g), although Zieliski and Troszyska [23] showed a range from 164.7 to 408.2 mg/100 g, depending on the type of solvent used for extraction. Tahir and Farooq [20] analyzed the buckwheat varietydependence of polyphenol content and found that the total phenolic content varied from 770 to 1,660 mg/100 g d.m., depending on the variety. Both Borowski et al. [24] and Telesiski et al. [25] found polyphenol content in peas similar to that determined in this study. Wang et al. [26] examined the phenolic compounds in 17 pea varieties and found their content to range from 16.2 to 32.5 mg/100 g d.m. depending on the variety. Variety-dependence of the polyphenol content in peas was found by other authors [2729]. Similar values of the phenolic content in barley to that determined in this study were found by Zieliski and Troszyska [23]. They showed that phenolic content ranged from 55.1 to 111.8 mg/100 g, depending on the extraction method. A number of studies have indicated the relationship between variety and polyphenol content [3033].

The level of total phenolic content varied significantly (p 0.05) between cultivars (Fig. 1). It was the highest in buckwheat (265.8 mg/100 g) and the lowest in pea (35.2 mg/100 g), while the value for winter barley was 107.5 mg/100 g and 83.2 mg/100 g for spring barley. A similar relationshipa higher phenolic content in buckwheat than in barleyhas been shown by other authors as well [21, 23]. They also found winter and spring barley to differ in this compound content. Many studies confirmed that the content of phenolic compounds depends on the type of analyzed sources [1, 46, 9, 12, 16, 32].
Fig. 1 Total phenolic content (expressed as catechin equivalent) in analyzed cultivars. Means denoted by the same letter for each cultivar are not statistically different at p 0.05. Results are the means of nine measurements (n = 9) (more ...)

Phenolic Acids
Buckwheat grains contained traces of ferulic and vanillic acids, with the syringic acid occurring at the highest level (7.319.1 mg/100 g), followed by coumaric acid (2.1 2.8 mg/100 g) (Table 1). Zieliski et al. [34, 35] also detected traces of ferulic acid in buckwheat but they found a lower level of coumaric (0.135 mg/100 g d.m.) and syringic acid (0.097 mg/100 g), which may result from various features of analyzed samples and different analytical procedures [5, 6]. Seeds of all the pea cultivars contained traces of ferulic acid, which is in agreement with the results of Dueas et al. [7, 36]. The analyzed pea varieties contained similar levels of coumaric acid (ca. 2 mg/100 g) and the content of syringic and vanillic acid changed to a similar extent depending on the kind of varieties and ranged from 31.2 to 41.7 mg/100 g for syringic and from 31.9 to 43.1 mg/100 g for vanillic acid (Table 1). A lower level of coumaric acid was determined by Dueas et al. [7] (0.06 mg/100 g) and Troszyska and Ciska [37] (0.33 mg/100 g). Dueas et al. [7] reported that peas contain 0.02 mg/100 g of syringic acid and 0.3 mg/100 g of vanillic acid, whereas Troszyska and Ciska [37] determined their content in pea hulls at the level of 0.2 mg/100 g for syringic and 0.043 to 0.657 mg/100 g for vanillic acid. Grains of barley contained the largest amounts of syringic acid (67.274.7 mg/100 g in winter varieties and 57.380.6 mg/100 g in spring varieties) and the smallest amounts of

coumaric acid (2.5 mg/100 g in winter varieties and 2 to 5.2 mg/100 g in spring ones) (Table 1). Similar values of coumaric acid content were determined by Makarska and Michalak [38] (2.73.5 mg/100 g). Much lower values noted Zieliski et al. [34] (0.05 mg/100 g d.m.), who also determined a very low level of syringic acid (0.05 mg/100 g d.m.). Ferulic acid content in barley grains was found to range from 10.1 to 25.8 mg/100 g in winter varieties and from 6.5 to 12.1 mg/100 g in spring varieties. Similar contents were determined by Makarska and Michalak [38] (38.248.1 mg/100 g) and Kvasnika et al. [39] (37.143.4 mg/100 g). The amount of vanillic acid in barley ranged from 10.1 to 11.2 mg/100 g in winter varieties and from 8 to 14.9 mg/100 g in spring varieties. A similar content of this acid (5.66.5 mg/100 g) was found by Makarska and Michalak [38]. In conclusion, statistical differences (p 0.05) in ferulic acid content have only been found between the varieties of winter barley. Coumaric acid was a distinguishing factor for all the buckwheat and spring barley varieties. Syringic acid content was a distinguishing factor for all analyzed varieties within the cultivars (except for two varieties of winter barley) and vanillic acid occurred at a statistically different level (p 0.05) between all the pea and spring barley varieties (Table 1). The analysis of inter-cultivars differences found ferulic acid levels exceeding the limit of quantification only in barley grains of both cultivars and was a distinctive factor for both (Fig. 2). These grains did not differ in the content of syringic and vanillic acids, but the content of these acids in the other analyzed cultivars was statistically different (p 0.05). Coumaric acid was a factor with the weakest distinctive force for individual cultivars because only grains of spring barley contained it at level statistically different (p 0.05) than in other materials.
Fig. 2 The phenolic acid content in analyzed cultivars. Means denoted by the same letter for each cultivar are not statistically different at p 0.05. Results are the means of nine measurements (n = 9)

It is noteworthy that the content of total phenolics determined using the spectrophotometric method in all pea varieties and some barley varieties was lower than the sum of phenolic acids determined by HPLC. This probably resulted from the fact that during the spectrophotometric procedure it was only possible to determine these phenolics which

could be extracted with methanol (generally free phenolics forms) [5, 23]. On the other hand, the preparation of samples for determination of phenolic acids by the HPLC method involves acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis, where more phenolics could be released (e.g., bound into complexes with proteins and saccharides). Zieliski et al. [35] determined phenolic acids in buckwheat in two formsfree (extracted with 80% methanol and diethyl ether) and as esters (released by extraction with methanol followed by hydrolysis with 2M NaOH and extraction with ether). All the acids were present in much higher amounts as esters (the difference was tenfold for coumaric acid). The findings were confirmed by Madhujith and Shahidi [33]. It should be stressed that the differences in phenolic content observed by various authors could result from a variety of factors, including climatic conditions, agrotechnical procedures followed in cultivation and harvesting, ripeness of the material, harvest time, storage conditions, effect of genetic factors and varieties-dependent variability [5, 6]. Hura et al. [40] reported that the content of phenolic compounds in buckwheat plants cultivated during two vegetation seasons may differ by a factor of 10. It should be especially stressed that the structures and properties of phenolics vary greatly, affecting extraction conditions and the analytical methods applied which, in turn, considerably affects the determined amounts [5, 6]. Dueas et al. [7] reported that releasing some phenolics by hydrolysis with various enzymatic preparations may result in hundred-fold differences in their concentrations. Sun and Ho [41] examined the effect of solvent applied on the total phenolic compound content in buckwheat grains. They found that it reached 900 mg/100 g when ethyl acetate was applied and 3,300 mg/100 g when acetone was used. Kivilompolo et al. [42] found that phenolic acid content may undergo a hundred-fold change depending on the measurement technique.

Correlations
Statistically significant relationships (p 0.05) have been found between protein content and the levels of ferulic and vanillic acids (Table 2). An increase in protein content in the material was accompanied by a decrease in ferulic acid amount and an increase in vanillic acid content. This may imply that ferulic acid was present in the material mainly as compounds with carbohydrates and vanillic acid with proteins. Reports by many authors have pointed to interactions between phenolics and proteins [18, 19, 43]. No statistically significant relationship has been shown to exist between the amount of protein and the total phenolics, which has also been confirmed by literature reports [26, 27, 44].

Table 2 Correlation between analyzed discriminants

Total phenolic content was in inverse proportion to the amount of syringic and vanillic acid. It probably resulted from the fact that these acids were present in forms which could not be extracted with 80% methanol. Oomah et al. [44] also observed a statistically significant negative correlation between some phenolic acids and their total content. There was a positive correlation between ferulic and syringic acid, which suggests that they are present in similar connections with other components of analyzed products.

Conclusions
It can be concluded that the content of total phenolics can be useful as a distinguishing factor for all the cultivars analyzed in this study and for some of the varieties. However, individual varieties were best distinguished by the content of syringic acid. There were some significant (p 0.05) correlations between individual phenolic compounds and between phenolics and protein and, although these results are interesting, further investigations on larger sample populations are needed.

Acknowledgments
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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Articles from Springer Open Choice are provided here courtesy of Springer

Antioxidant phenolic compounds from walnut kernels (Juglans regia L.)

Zijia Zhang
a, b

, Liping Liao , Jeffrey Moore , Tao Wu

a, b,

, Zhengtao Wang

a, b,

Purchase

Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Medicines of Ministry of Education, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201210, China b Shanghai R&D Centre for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Shanghai 201210, China
c d

Nu Skin (China) Daily-Use & Health Products Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201210, China Department of Standards Development, U.S. Pharmacopeia, Rockville, MD 20852, USA

Received 29 January 2008; revised 18 July 2008; Accepted 22 July 2008. Available online 29 July 2008.

Abstract
An activity-directed fractionation and purification process was used to isolate 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH ) scavenging components fromJuglans regia kernels. Ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed greater DPPH scavenging activities compared to those of water and petroleum ether fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction was subjected to purification using column chromatography. Seven phenolic compounds, pyrogallol (1), phydroxybenzoic acid (2), vanillic acid (3), ethyl gallate (4), protocatechuic acid (5), gallic acid (6) and 3,4,8,9,10pentahydroxydibenzo[b,d]pyran-6-one (7), containing significant antioxidant activities were isolated and identified in J. regia by spectroscopic methods for the first time in this study. The relative order of DPPH scavenging capacity for these compounds was 7 > 6 4 1 > Trolox 5 > 3 > 2. The results of this study suggested that the antioxidant activities of these phenolic compounds may be influenced by the number of hydroxyls in their aromatic rings. Keywords: Juglans regia; Antioxidant; Radical scavenging activity; DPPH; Phenolic compounds

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814608009072

Total phenols, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husks
Ivo Oliveira, Anabela Sousa, Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira, Albino Bento, Letcia Estevinho, Jos Alberto Pereira
,

Purchase

CIMO/Escola Superior Agrria, Instituto Politcnico de Bragana, Campus Sta Apolnia, Apartado 1 172, 5301-855 Bragana, Portugal
Received 4 February 2008; Accepted 11 March 2008. Available online 28 March 2008.

Abstract
The total phenols content and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were studied in walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husks aqueous extracts of five different cultivars (Franquette, Mayette, Marbot, Mellanaise and Parisienne). Total phenols content was determined by colorimetric assay and their amount ranged from 32.61 mg/g of GAE (cv. Mellanaise) to 74.08 mg/g of GAE t (cv. Franquette). The antioxidant capacity of aqueous extracts was assessed through reducing power assay, scavenging effects on DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals and -carotene linoleate model system. A concentration-dependent antioxidative capacity was verified in reducing power and DPPH assays, with EC50 values lower than 1 mg/mL for all the tested extracts. The antimicrobial capacity was screened against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, and fungi. All the extracts inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria, being Staphylococcus aureus the most susceptible one with MIC of 0.1 mg/mL for all the extracts. The results obtained indicate that walnut green husks may become important in the obtainment of a noticeable source of compounds with health protective potential and antimicrobial activity. Keywords: Walnut green husks; Total phenols; Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691508001439