Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology

of the herb. Rasool et al. compared antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of wild and in vitro-regenerated plants of a
Kashmir Himalayan perennial medicinal herb, Prunella vulgaris. Their study is probably the first report giving evidence
that in vitro grown P. vulgaris has antioxidant and antibacterial activities similar to that of wild, suggesting the substitution
of wild P. vulgaris with tissue culture raised plants for use in pharmaceutical industry. In another study on antibacterial
activity, the potential of methanolic extract of seeds and leaves of Euryale ferox was tested against nine clinically isolated
bacterial strains by Parray et al. The broad spectrum activity displayed by these extracts appears to provide logic for the use
of E. ferox as ethno-medicine in urinary tract infections. The issues related to ethno-medicinal uses and overexploitation of
medicinal plants of Haigad watershed of Kumaun Himalaya have been discussed by Joshi et al. They argue that for
sustainable use, in addition to rapid conservation efforts, farmers should be involved in the cultivation of medicinal plants.
An exhaustive ethno-botanical survey on phyto-diversity, spanning over more than 250 species, of Parvati Valley in
Northwestern Himalayas described by Sharma et al. is highly informative. They stress the involvement of local inhabitants
for conservation of indigenous knowledge and traditional practices. In a similar study on medicinal plants of west Nepal,
Kunwar et al. compare indigenous knowledge of therapies of 48 medicinal plants with the latest common pharmacological
findings, suggesting complementarities and thus forming base for use in modern therapeutic medicine. Similar correlation
was reported by Ryakala et al. while studying the ethnobotany of 52 plant species used to cure diabetes by the inhabitants of
north eastern India. Raj et al. have screened phytochemical constituents of 21 medicinal plants used in traditional Amchi
system of medicine in the Ladakh region of India. The significance of these plants is discussed in the context of their role in
ethnomedicine All these studies have generated the possibilities of using the unexplored plants as potential sources of future
drugs.
Verma et al. have contributed an informative paper describing the chemical composition of leaf and flower essential oils
of Thymus serpyllum and T. linearis from Western Himalaya, while Hamid et al. discuss the impact of chromium on the
oxidative defense system of Brassica juncea L., a medicinally important plant commonly used as a diuretic and stimulant.
I hope that the scientists working on medicinal plants will find this Special Issue helpful in moving forward in their
important quest of contributing in the area of medicine, drug discovery, and conservation of medicinal plants etc. I would
like to thank Dr. Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva and Ms. Kasumi Shima at Global Science Books Ltd., UK for their cooperation
and helpful suggestions; and my family for their understanding and support during the prolonged and time-consuming work
on this volume.
December, 2010