Applied Botany

The main objective of the research work was to check the presence or absence of the phytochemical constituents in the E. officinalis. The results of the phytochemical analysis of this medicinal plant showed that the terpenoids, tannins, reducing sugar, flavonoids and alkaloids were found to be present in mentioned medicinal plant.

Cut twigs with fresh leaf of Som plant (PerseabombycinaKost) are used in indoor rearing of Muga Silkworm (Antheraeaassamensis) as food. Through the consumption of leaf the silkworm get required water content and nutrients for their normal metabolic activities for growth and development. A number of chemicals in single and combination were tested as water solutions keeping the twigs lower cut ends dip in solution inside bottles. Sucrose and gibber relic acid solutions are found to keep the leaf fresh for considerable period. Sucrose at a concentration of 40 g per liter of distilled water keep leafs fresh up to 96 hours. This concentration of the solution has a pH value of 3.25. Gibber relic acid solution at the concentration of 0.01 g per liter of distilled water with pH measuring 4.00 keeps leafs fresh for 36 hours. The best concentrations of these two chemicals were also worked out to be 4% for sucrose and 0.015% for gibber relic acid that give a pH value of 4.2 in distilled water. This concentration of gibber relic acid keeps Som plan leafs fresh for 48 hours.

A protocol was developed for high frequency plantlet regeneration from shoot tip explants of Withania somnifera on MS media supplemented with BAP and Kn at different concentrations. These in vitro developed shoots were separated and rooted on half strength of MS medium supplemented with IBA. Complete plantlets were hardened and acclilimatized in field condition.  The regeneration protocol developed in this study provides a basis for germplasm conservation and for further investigation of bioactive constituents of this medicinal plant.

Cucumis melo L. is monoecious climber, commonly growing weed, belonging to family cucurbitaceae. Whole plant of C. melo is medicinally important. Plant pacifies vitiated dysentery, diarrhoeic diseases, flatulene, skin diseases, antivenin and general debility. Dispending medicinally uses, our study have been found that this weeds has mosquito repellent activities. To determine repellant activities petroleum ether fruit extract of C. melo was used against the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus. The Larval mortality was observed after 24h exposure and highest larval mortality was found in petroleum ether fruit extract of C. melo.

Analysis of life forms of the vegetation of Ajmer (Rajasthan) was carried out based on the data collected from the field. The biological spectrum of Ajmer (covering different habitats in and around Ajmer) represent 7% phanerophytes, 10% nanophanerophytes, 16% chamaephytes and 20% hemiscryptophytes, geophytes are 6% while therophytes forms the largest class of total flora. Lianas are a poorly represented class with 2% of the total flora. According to life form classification, the plant communities are regarded as therophytic, which is a characteristic feature of vegetation in desert and semi desert condition of Rajasthan.

Understanding the molecular factor behind sex expression has immense importance both in basic and applied research. Determination of sex in Casuarina equisetifolia is of utmost important from the commercial forestry. Sex of plant is very important as number of female plants must be maximum. Plantation of seedlings of unknown sex leads to long term effects on yield. Hence correct identification of male and female genotypes at juvenile phase is important to maintain proper densities of female and male plants and dioecious nature also poses problem in tree breeding programmes. In many dioecious plants, gender influences economic value, breeding schemes, and/or opportunities for commercial use of genetically transformed materials.

The study investigated the replacement value of plantain peel meal for maize on feed intake, live weight gain and feed efficiency of a snail species (Achachatina marginata). Four diets were formulated as follows: diet 1, 30.7% maize without plantain peel; diet 2, 20.7% maize and 10% plantain peel; diet 3, 10.7% maize and 20% plantain and diet 4 ; 30.7% plantain peel without maize.48 medium size snails were randomly divided into four groups and each group was fed with one of the experimental diets for 3months . The snails were examined for performance using live weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency. The statistical analysis showed no significant difference among the treatments (experimental diets) but the result revealed that snails fed with diet 1 had the highest performance in live weight gain (5.67) and feed efficiency (0.56) while diet 4 had the least in live weight gain (4.03) and efficiency (0.41) but the greatest in feed intake (10.83).However, plantain peel is a feed ingredient that has no side effect on the snails although poorly consumed. Its inclusion in the diet should not exceed 10% based on the result of the study.

In this study, we used ten medicinal plants (Azima tetracantha Lam. (Salvadoraceae ), Corchorus aestuans Linn.(Tiliaceae), Garcinia mangostana Linn. (Guttiferae), Guazama ulmifolia Lam. (Sterculiaceae), Cardiospermum halicacabumLinn. (Sapindaceae), Pimenta dioica Lindl.(Myrtaceae), Phyla nodifera (L) E.Greene (Verbenaceae), Scoparia dulcis Linn. (Scrophulariaceae), Croton bonplandianus Baillon (Euphorbiaceae), and Clerodendrum inerme Linn. (Verbenaceae) were screened for its potential antibacterial activity against clinically important microbial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, E. coli, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The antimicrobial activity was determined in organic (Petroleum ether, Benzene and Chloroform), alcoholic (methanol) and aqueous extracts of these ten medicinal plants. The aqueous extracts showed minimum antimicrobial activity when compared to other extracts. The methanolic extracts of P.dioica showed the maximum activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The present study suggested that these medicinal plants represent may be used to find bioactive compounds from natural products that might lead to the development of new drugs against bacterial diseases.

Plant derived components have a great significance and act as potent alternatives for the treatment of cancer without having harmful after effects on human body. There are about 250,000 plant species out of which more than one thousand plants possess significant anticancer properties which has been proven by scientists. Plant derived components such as Taxol, podophyllotoxin, etoposide, camptothecin, topotican, vinblastine, etc are of great contribution towards anti-cancer activity by plants

Field trials were carried out at the farm of Livestock development unit of Ekiti state Ministry of agriculture, Erinfun, Ado Ekiti (7°40? N, 5°15? E) in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 cropping sessions to assess the effects of sprout number per cassava stand on the performance of cassava Manihot esculenta. The treatments which represented the number of shoots allowed to survive from sprouted shoots per stand were single shoot; double shoots; triple shoots and multiple shoots. At four weeks after planting (4WAP), sprouted shoots were detached to the required number per stand in each treatment. Multiple shoots produced the tallest plants while single and double shoots per stand gave the shortest plants. Single shoot per stand produced the highest stem girth figure, number of initial and final branches, fresh shoot biomass, number of tubers per plant as well as tuber yield per hectare. While the percent peel per tuber was lowest in the single and double shoots per stand, the highest percentage of peel per tuber was recorded in the multiple shoots cassava plants. It is concluded that sprouted cassava should not be allowed to be more than two shoots per stand for optimum cassava tuber yield.