HERBAL TECHNOLOGY: Recent Trends and Progress

M. Daniel Arun Arya

Vinay M. Raole Department of Botany,

The Maharaja University of Baroda, Vadodara, 390 002, India

Published by: Pawan Kumar Scientific Publishers (India) 5-A, New Pali Road, P.O. Box 91 Jodhpur - 342 001 E-mail: info@scientificpub.com www.scientificpub.com © Daniel, M., et al. 2007 ISBN: 978-81-7233-479-6 eISBN: 978-93-8791-330-1 Lasertype set: Rajesh Ojha Printed in India

PREFACE

This book is a sequel to the recently published book “Herbal Technology: Concepts and Approaches”(M. Daniel, 2006, Satish Serial Publishers, New Delhi). As defined there and as also conveyed by the various conferences and workshops held here in the Botany Department of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on this new concept, Herbal Technology encompasses all the myriads of ways of utilizing the multifa-rious potentialities of plants (other than the genetic manipulations) for human welfare. Though some scientists tend to refer the avenues related to Medicinal Plants only in the circumscription of Herbal Technology (and Dr. Banerji calls the same as Phytotechnology- see the first chapter of this book), we find it proper to include Natural Dyes, Biopesticides, Biofertilizers and Biofuel into this novel and highly utilitarian aspects of Plant Sciences.

The Medicinal plants are an area plagued by a multitude of problems such as the correct botanical identity, name changes, biomarkers (both chemical and pharmacognostic), active principles, cultivation, extraction, formulations, pharmacology, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. The scope of these plants in Aromatherapy, Herbal Cosmetics, Herbal Veterinary Medicine is not properly assessed. The emerging fields of antioxidant therapy and Metabolomics as well as the need of documentation of the knowledge accrued from the traditional knowledge library to prevent biopiracy and their utility needs careful attention. Therefore the section on Medicinal plants forms the first and largest division. In this part, the concepts of Bioprosp-ecting and Chemoprospecting are brilliantly explained with examples by Dr. Banerji. Alongwith an account of the plants mentioned in Vedas, there are a good number of attempts on ethnobotanical studies from various parts of the country and care is taken to include only the novel properties/uses of plants. A number of papers dealing with biomarkers, both pharmacognostic and phytochemical, on a good number of medicinal plants form a major share in this section. The plants studied thus are Ficus benghalensis, F. religiosa, Woodfordia floribunda, Lagerstroemia flos-reginae, Sida veronicaefolia, Euphorbia thymifolia, E. hirta, Ammania baccifera, Lawsonia inermis, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Jatropha curcas and Jatropha gossypifolia. The utility of micromorphological characters, which otherwise were ignored as biomarkers till today, in at least eleven medicinal plants and as well as the presence of characteristic silica bodies in three medicinal grasses are explained in two papers. And we are happy to state that almost all these works are from our laboratories. Tissue culture practices as well as

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evaluation of the clinical properties on animals are the other aspects dealt here. Papers on phytochemicals in modifying the properties of microbial pathogens and medicinally useful mushrooms and their cultivation are the other topics of interest.

A lot more is desired in the field of Natural dyes. The botany, chemistry and uses of many plants which yield these compounds are not clearly known. The scope of utilizing natural dyes as colors for food and pharmaceutical preparations, in cosmetics like face powder and lipsticks, in paints and their application in painting, is yet to be pursued. The various dyeing practices prevalent in different parts of country are to be standardized with precision and the various components of different common dyes and their effects on the health of the consumer are to be made known and this will add the value of clothes dyed by natural dyes. This is an area where at present only the textile chemists are active and absolutely no Phytochemist or Botanist is seen anywhere in this arena. Here in this book, Natural Dyes form the second section and it covers the application of dyes from six plants such as Rohira, Katha, Ravenchi wood, Annatto, Babool, banana on various textiles. A novel method of utilizing microencapsulated fragrances of Lavender, Rose, Musk, Lemon, Sandalwood, Tropical Paradise and Bouquet on various textiles is presented in another paper.

Biopesticides is another virgin area which will pay great dividends to the common man and the scientific community. India can boast of more than 300 Angiosperms having pesticidal properties (Daniel, 2006). Since these pesticides are plant extracts, they contain many other non-pesticidal compounds such as minerals, co-factors, vitamins, hormones, anti-oxidants and even nutrients and all these preparations will directly benefit the recipient plant. In this third section, papers on Biocontrol agents, control of toxicogenic fungi by phytochemicals and antifungal activity of plant extracts are included.

The fourth section is on Biofertilisers. They are biologically active organisms/products including bacteria, algae or fungi, with the ability to provide nutrients to plants. They form an important alternative source of plant nutrition and help in improving plant health. They belong to two types; (1) nitrogen fixing and (2) phosphate solubilising. Nitrogen fixing biofertilizers fix atmospheric nitrogen into forms which are readily usable by plants. These include Rhizobium, Azotobactor, Azospirillum, blue green algae and Azolla. While Rhizobium requires symbiotic association with the root nodules of legumes to fix nitrogen, others can fix nitrogen independently. Phosphate solubilising micro-organisms (PSMs) secrete organic acids which dissolve rock phosphate and tricalcium phosphates which are readily absorbed by plants. PSMs are particularly valuable as they are not crop specific and can benefit all the crops. The papers presented here include the utility of marine algae, blue green algae and AM fungi.

Biofuel, also a highly rewarding area and which is the need of the day, includes the various alternate sources of fuel such as petrocrops, biocrude, liquid resins, vegetable oils and plant oil methyl esters, biogas, alcohols and

Preface v

biological hydrogen. The utility of biogas as well as a number of new sources of fatty oils have been presented in the papers presented in this section.

Herbal technology as a subject is in its stages of infancy. The various vistas identified in this subject offer great potentials if and when carefully researched and nurtured. The principal players here are the Botanists and Phytochemists. This book, along with the first book mentioned in the beginning, are aimed to awaken the scientists and intelligentsia on the enormous possibilities existing in these areas and on the need to fight diseases, pollution and fuel crisis, which are the main problems facing man today, in an eco- friendly way. Each of the topics included here is designed in such a way to rouse the curiosity of the student/reader and a conscientious worker can add many different dimensions in every topic. It is hoped that the subject of Herbal Technology will find a place in the curricula of graduate and post-graduate classes, will initiate a great deal of interest in the scientific community and will lead to many research programmes in each of the topics, be that Biopesticides or Biofuel. The full potential of the plants, when realized and manipulated in an ecofriendly manner will make the life in this planet (we have only one planet to live!) much more soothing, comfortable and in tune with the nature.

27, March, 2007

M. Daniel Arun Arya

Vinay M. Raole

CONTENTS

Preface 1. Herbal technology: Concepts and Prospects — M. Daniel 1

A. MEDICINAL PLANTS

2. Phytotechnology-Value addition to Biodiversity through chemoprospection — A. Banerji 9

3. Medicinal plants mentioned in Atharva Veda — Arun Arya 21

4. Korku uses of some lesser known monocotyledonous ethnomedicinal plants of Melghat (Dist. Amravati)

— Prabha Y. Bhogaonkar and Vinod D. Devarkar 31

5. Medico-botanical survey of vanaspatibet of Wadwal – Nagnath — S.D. Biradar, S. Modak and P.N. Kanthale 37

6. Observations on ethnomedicinal plants of Danta forest in North Gujarat — K.C. Patel and A.S. Reddy 45

7. Conservation through propagation of the state flower Sassurea obvallata : an under-explored medicinal herb of Uttaranchal

— Mitali Joshi and Uppeandra Dhar 53

8. Medicinal mushrooms for healthy life — Arun Arya and Chitra Arya 63

9. Cultivation of Reishi mushroom [Ganoderma lucidum (Layes) Karst]. — Chitra Arya 69

10. Micromorphological characters as biomarkers for some of the medicinal plants of Gujarat.

— Dipa Gohil, Vinay M. Raole and M. Daniel 77

11. Pharmacognostic and phytochemical analysis of Ficus benghalensis Linn. and Ficus religiosa Linn.

— Richa Pandey and M. Daniel 85

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12. Pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies on Woodfordia floribunda Salisb. and Lagerstroemia flos-reginae Retz.

— Elizabeth M. Daniel, Susy Albert and M. Daniel 93

13. Studies on the Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry of one of the Balas, Sida veronicaefolia Lam.

— Anamika Kumari and M. Daniel 101

14. Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical studies on Euphorbia thymifolia Linn. and E. hirta Linn.

— Sallykutty Thomas and M. Daniel 113

15. Silica bodies as biomarkers of a few medicinal plants of the Poaceae — Priya V. Nair and M. Daniel 125

16. Studies on the biomarkers of Ammania baccifera Linn. and Lawsonia inermis Linn.

— Elizabeth M. Daniel, Susy Albert and M. Daniel 129

17. Studies on the pharmacognosy and hypoglycemic activity of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.

— R. Remya and M. Daniel 137

18. Effect of Cassia alata Linn. leaf extract on anti-oxidant enzymes in normal and streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

— R. Remya, S. Sathya and A. Prakasam 151

19. Studies on Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry of Jatropha curcas Linn and Jatropha gossypifolia Linn.

— Sallykutty Thomas and M. Daniel 155

20. TLC screening of in vitro produced phytosterols of Clerodendrum phlomidis L.

— Zankhana Rathod, Monika Christian and O.P. Saxena 171

21. In vitro produced flavonoids of Boerhavia diffusa Linn. — Monika Christian, Zankhana Rathod and O.P. Saxena 175

22. Curing of plasmid mediated vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus using herbal naphthoquinones.

— Sheetal Jahagirdar and P.K. Dhakephalkar 181

B. NATURAL DYES

23. Rohira (Tecomella undulata) leaves, a new source of dye for cotton and silk fabric

— Sabra Qureshi and Inderpal Rai 191

Contents ix

24. Dyeing of cotton fabric with Katha and Ravenchi wood — Anjali Karolia and Falguni Patel 199

25. Dyeing of cotton with Bixa orellana Linn. seeds — E.M. Dedhia 205

26. Dyeing of cotton, silk and wool yarns by babool (Prosopis juliflora) flowers — Vijaya Lunia and Shelly Arora 211

27. Fermentation process in dyeing cotton and silk fabrics with banana peel (Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum)

— Inderpal Rai and Santosh Soni 219

28. Application and evaluation of micro encapsulated perfumes on three textile fabrics

— Deepa Rathi and Misty Rao 225

29. Medicinal herbs for dyeing normal and grey hair — Shehnaz Y.Qureshi 237

C. BIOPESTICIDES

30. Biocontrol agents and their interaction with agricultural crops. — Dolly Kumar and Bhumika Naidu 243

31. Control of toxicogenic fungi by essential oil from pericarp of Citrus — Neeta Sharma and Abhishek Tripathi 253

32. Antifungal activity of floral extracts of Calotropis procera and Mimusops elengi

— Vishal K. Muliya and Arun Arya 261

D. BIOFERTILISERS

33. Marine algae as a biofertiliser — Neelam Pereira, Verlecar, X.N. and V.K. Dhargalkar 269

34. Efficacy of biofertilisers with nitrogen levels on productivity of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

— H.P. Ponkia, K.H. Ribadia and D.R. Gondalia 273

35. Yield potential of BGA Biofertilisers for paddy crop — S.N. Nandan, K.B. Thakre and S.P. Khairnar 277

36. Occurrence of A.M. Fungi – a phosphate fertilizer, in soils of Vadodara — Tanushree Chaterjee and Arun Arya 281

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E. BIOFUEL

37. Biogas – A potent biofuel: effect of different solid-to-water ratios on its production

— Darshna Patel and P. Shilpkar 291

38. Some new vegetable oils as sources of biofuel — Divya R. Nair, Purvi A. Patel and M. Daniel 297

INDEX 301

CoverTitlePrefaceContents1 Herbal Technology : Concepts and ProspectsA Medicinal Plants2 Phytotechnology - Value Addition to Biodiversity Through Chemoprospection3 Medicinal Plants Mentioned in Atharva Veda4 Korku uses of Some Lesser Known Monocotyledonous Ethnomedicinal Plants of Melghat (Dist. Amravati)5 Medico-Botanical Survey of Vanaspatibet of Wadawal-Nagnath6 Observations on Ethnomedicinal Plants of Danta Forest in North Gujarat7 Conservation Through Propagation of the State Flower Saussurea Obvallata: an Under-Exploited Medicinal Herb of Uttaranchal8 Medicinal Mushrooms for Healthy Life9 Cultivation of Reishi Mushroom [Ganoderma Lucidum (Leyes) Karst.]10 Micromorphological Characters Asbiomarkers for Some of the Medicinal Plants of Gujarat11 Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical Studies on Ficus Benghalensis linn. and Ficus Religiosa Linn.12 Chemical and Pharmacognostic Characters of Lagerstroemia Flosreginae and Woodfordia Floribunda13 Studies on the Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry of one of the Balas, Sida Veronicaefolia Lam.14 Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical Studies on Euphorbia Thymifolia Linn and Euphorbia Hirta Linn.15 Silica Bodies as Biomarkers of a Few Medicinal Plants of the Poaceae16 Studies on the Biomarkers of Ammania Baccifera Linn. and Lawsonia Inermis Linn.17 Pharamacognostic Studies and Hypoglycemic Activity of Artocarpus Heterophyllus Lam.18 Effect of Cassia Alata L. Leaf Extracton Enzymes Involved in Carbohydrate Metabolism in Normal and Strepto zotocin Induced Diabetic Rats19 Studies on Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry of Jatropha Curcas Linn and Jatropha Gossypifolia Linn.20 TLC Screening of in Vitro Produced Phytosterols of Clerodendrum Phlomidis L.21 In Vitro Produced Flavonoids of Boerhavia Diffusa L.22 Curing of Plasmid Mediated Vancomy-cin Resistance in Staphylococcus Aureus Using Herbal Naphthoquinones

B Natural Dyes23 Rohira (Tecomella Undulata) Leaves –A New Source of Dye for Cotton and Silk Fabric24 Dyeing of Cotton Fabric with Katha and Ravenchi Wood25 Dyeing of Cotton with Seeds of Bixa Orellana Linn.26 Dyeing of Cotton, Silk and Wool Yarns by Babul Flowers (Prosopis Juliflora)27 Dyeing of Vegetable Dye on Cotton and Silk Fabrics with Banana Peel (Musa Paradisiaca var. Sapientum) Using Fermentation process28 Application and Evaluation of Microencapsulated Perfumes on three Textile Fabrics29 Medicinal Herbs for Dye Normal and Gray Hair

C Biopesticides30 Biocontrol Agents and their Interaction with Agricultural Crops31 Control of Toxicogenic Fungi by Essential Oil from Pericarp of Citrus Sinensis (Mosambi)32 Antifungal Activity of Floral Extracts of Calotropis Procera and Mimusops Elengi

D Biofertilisers33 Role of Marine Algae as a Biofertiliser34 Efficacy of Biofertilizers with Nitrogen Levels on Productivity of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)35 Yield Potential of BGA Biofertilizers for Paddy Crop36 Occurrence of am Fungi- A Phosphate Fertilizer, in Soils of Vadodara

E Biofuel37 Biogas – A Potent Biofuel: Effect of Different Solid-to-Water Rations on its Production38 Some New Vegetable Oils as Sources of Biofuel

Index