Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology

Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology
Avinash Nagpal, Balwinder Singh, Sanjeev Sharma, Gita Rani, Gurdeep Singh Virk (India) Coleus spp.: Micropropagation
and In Vitro Production of Secondary Metabolites (pp 1-17)
ABSTRACT
Invited Review: Coleus spp. have long been prized for their colorful foliage, which may combine shades of green, yellow, pink,
red and maroon. They are plants for all locations. Besides their ornamental nature, Coleus spp. are also valued in folk medicine.
C. blumei Benth., a natural hybrid of several Coleus spp. is an ornamental plant growing all over the world in an enormous
number of different cultivars that vary in color and shape of the leaves, and is also known for its medicinal properties, in
particular rosmarinic acid, one of its most important secondary compounds. Rosmarinic acid has been shown to exhibit
antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antiallergic activities in mammalian systems. C. forskohlii Briq. is a medicinally important
plant valued for the production of forskolin, a diterpenoid, present in root tubers of the plant and known to lower blood pressure
and intraocular pressure. C. parviflorus Benth. (country potato) has the potential of developing into a crop similar to potato. An
ample amount of work has been reported on micropropagation of different Coleus spp. from different explants like shoot tips,
leaf segments, nodal and internodal segments, etc. Furthermore, large-scale production of rosmarinic acid and forskolin from
cell cultures of C. blumei and C. forskohlii, respectively, has also been reported. Genetic transformation using Agrobacterium
has been reported to enhance rosmarinic acid and forskolin production in transformed cultures of C. blumei and C. forskohlii.
Jian Chen, Wei-lin Li (China) Progress in Studies on Phytochemistry and Biological Activity of Folium Eriobotryae (pp 18-23)
ABSTRACT
Invited Mini-Review: Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. is widely planted as a fruit tree, specifically in China and Japan, and
its dried leaves (Folium Eriobotryae) is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Many compounds including essential oil,
triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, tannins and megastigmane glycosides have been isolated from Folium Eriobotryae,
and showed anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, antiviral, cytotoxic and antimutagenic properties. In the
present paper we review the research results on phytochemical constituents and biological activities of Folium Eriobotryae in
the hope that it would be helpful to better understand and use traditional Chinese medicine.
Usama Aly, Moemen Hanafy (Egypt) Geranium Oil Production in Suspension Cultures of Pelargonium graveolens L. (pp
24-28)
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Studies were conducted on the morphogenetic potential and secondary metabolite production by P.
graveolens L. cell culture. Leaf segments excised from field grown plants, which showed the most intensive growth of callus on
B 5 medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BA and 2.0 mg/l NAA, were used to initiated callus and cell suspension cultures. The
effect of initial concentrations of two of the major medium components, sucrose and nitrate, on the growth, biosynthetic and
biochemical characteristics of essential oils was examined. Callus developed most on B 5 medium containing 4% sucrose and
normal level of nitrate (2500 mg/l). Maximum essential oil was produced from plants grown on M7 medium containing 8%
sucrose.
Ali Kemal Ayan, Cüneyt Çırak (Turkey) Detection of Hyperforin in Turkish Species of Hypericum (Guttiferae) (pp 29-30)
ABSTRACT
Short Communication: In the present study, six Hypericum species from the Turkish flora were investigated for the presence
of hyperforin namely H. heterophyllum Vent, H. hyssopifolium L., H. linarioides Bosse, H. orientale L., H. scabrum L. and H.
triquetrifolium Turra. For this purpose, the aerial parts were collected at full flowering, dissected into floral, leaf and stem tissues,
air-dried at room temperature and then assayed for hyperforin by HPLC. Hyperforin was detected only in flower tissues of H.
hyssopifolium (29.2 mg/g DW) and H. linarioides (6.28 mg/g DW). This data could be useful for elucidation of the
chemotaxonomical significance of hyperforin and for the phytochemical evaluation of H. hyssopifolium and H. linarioides.
Gilles Ines Fomekong Dongmo, Claudia Edwedje Noumessing Momo, Julius Enyong Oben (Cameroon)
Antihyperglycemic and Hypoglycemic Effects of Aqueous and Hydroethanolic Extracts of Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth on